Best Bees' beekeeper Roman Pham attends to 涩里番下载's urban hive atop Fulton Hall. Photographs by Gary Wayne Gilbert
Earlier this year, Fulton Hall became home to some new residents 鈥� somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 of them 鈥� but administrators, faculty, staff and others in Fulton are unlikely to have noticed.
That鈥檚 because these recent arrivals don鈥檛 spend any time in Fulton鈥檚 offices, classrooms, or hallways. Instead, they hang out on the Fulton roof, buzzing around or inside a three-tiered structure that resembles a file cabinet, where instead of research they produce...honey.
Yes, they鈥檙e bees.
Thanks to a donation from the parents of a current undergraduate, 涩里番下载 is a recent addition to a local firm鈥檚 鈥渦rban beehive鈥� program. University administrators say the initiative reflects 涩里番下载鈥檚 strong interest in sustainability issues and solutions, and offers a potential educational resource. 聽
鈥淭here has been a lot of concern about the world鈥檚 bee population, and the numbers of beehives dying out,鈥� said Office of Sustainability Director Robert Pion. 鈥淲e felt that hosting a beehive would be a symbol of 涩里番下载鈥檚 concern for the environment.鈥�
There are benefits for 涩里番下载, too, Pion and others note, since bees promote the pollination of flowering plants. 聽聽
And, of course, there鈥檚 the honey, which once collected will be the property of the University. Administrators are discussing potential uses and how it might be made available.
The beehive鈥檚 arrival at 涩里番下载 came at the behest of Fred and Donna Seigel, parents of a current sophomore and a 2013 graduate. Fred Seigel is president and COO of Beacon Capital Partners, which has installed beehives on building rooftops at its properties, locally and elsewhere in the U.S., in collaboration with the Best Bees Company, a leading researcher of honey bees that is seeking to address the decline in the bee population.聽
The Beacon Capital urban beehive program reflects its support for bee research, noting that bees pollinate more than 130 crops; widespread devastation to the bee population, the company has stated, carries 鈥渢he potential for significant repercussions to our ecosystem and food supplies.鈥� Urban beehives produce more honey than suburban or rural ones because there are less pesticides and fewer predators, according to the company, which estimates that each hive will produce some 30 pounds, or four gallons, of honey per year.
Many major hotels in Boston have beehives, as does the Prudential Center and Hancock Tower.
A donation by the Seigels will support the oversight and maintenance of 涩里番下载's beehive by Best Bees, which sends a beekeeper once a month to check the bees鈥� health and wellbeing. On a recent visit, beekeeper Roman Pham observed that the hive was well-established and had a good chance of surviving. (He later reported that the bees had decided to 鈥済ive themselves a new queen,鈥� and he expected the choice to be made very shortly. Pham reorganized the space in the hive to ensure the new queen would have room to start laying new eggs.)
If all goes well, Pham said he would be able to harvest honey toward the end of August. 聽
Although nothing has been discussed as yet, Pion said that the beehives on Fulton could be a useful curricular or extracurricular tool in examining sustainability, environmental or other scientific-related matters.聽
One other important thing about honey bees, note Pion and Pham: They won鈥檛 bother you if you won鈥檛 bother them.聽
鈥擲ean Smith | News & Public Affairs