Bees actually don't really freak me out. Its the wasps that worry me (no, not the country club variety). I actually find single bees on their own quite charming. I don't often open up about my personal life. However four years ago this month my Poppy (my maternal grandfather) passed away from cancer. I actually feel quite lucky because I turned 20 having all four grandparents, and my Poppy battled cancer for about 10 years. Enough to see me grow from a child to a young adult, to see me get accepted to university, and to otherwise know that I will turn out to be a contributing member to society. But I reference my Poppy because he was actually a hobby bee keeper. As a kid the bees terrified me. But he loved tending to them, making his own honey, and selling it to his friends and neighbours. I don't think his hives were profitable per say, but they made him happy. I actually have a jar of his last batch of honey tucked away, and it is fully my intention to have that honey baked into my wedding cake. I guess that was all a rather personal way of saying that bees kind of make me happy, and they remind me of him.
Bees have actually become quite trendy over the last few years. People are starting to catch on that they play an important role in the eco system. Burts Bees has launched a wildflower campaign complete with an instillation in downtown Toronto. Hillcrest partnered with Alvéole (an urban beekeeping organization) to install two beehives on the roof of the mall, complete with wildflowers planted across the property. Looking at the rooftop, it was pretty barren with ducts, and white stones everywhere. I learned that bees can actually fly a radius of about 5 km, so there are plenty of flowers for them to pollenate.
We all know that green, environmentally initiatives are in (and have been for quite some time). However, I love this one in particular because it is unique way to directly benefit the community.
Did you know that a single hive can provide 10kg of honey? Stay tyned because Hillcrest will be producing their own branded #HelloHoney this fall! Here's to hoping that beyond honey they create some good for you body care products!
By the end of the season there could very well be 80,000 bees in these hives! And while these hives grow, so will the local area's bio diversity!
Because I know that deep down you have always wondered what the rooftop view of Hillcrest Mall looks like, I present to you, a windy day:
I've actually been spending quite a lot of time on rooftops lately because my new building has a rooftop pool that doubles as a beautiful photo location!
It was quite windy on the roof. And while at first I did not really want to hold about 1,000 bees (what ifI dropped it??) I figured I probably wouldn't get another chance, so I did it. Are you proud of me? I'm proud of me?
This is my second time working with Hillcrest and I must say that I have developed quite an appreciation for smaller malls. This mall has basically every store that I want to shop at, without the fight for a parking spot. I also like that the mall is big enough to have lots of choice, but a manageable enough to get through the mall in one day.
If you are in the area be sure to drop by, and if you see a busy bee buzzing along in the parking lot, know that they are doing an important, but often overlooked, job!
This post is not sponsored howeverI did receive a giftcard to the mall as a "thank you" for coming!
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