CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Grace Hart stopped by the Swissotel off Wacker Drive to check on one of her dozens of "clients.” There are two hives set up under two shady trees to the west of the hotel entrance.
"Swissotel hired my company to install bee hives and do educational programs for them in exchange for honey throughout the season," Hart said, who works for Alveole, established in 2019 as an urban beekeeping company that takes care of hives throughout the city.
"I am an urban beekeeper. This is my full time job. I have a background in urban farming and the sustainability world. I've always had a fascination with bees," added Hart.
At the Swissotel, Hart used a burlap smoker to calm the bees as she approached the hives.
"This smoke masks the alarm pheromone in the bees. It'll just calm them down and allow me to go in and out of the hive peacefully without upsetting the bees. We burn burlap," said Hart.
Hart handles about 40 clients and 50 hives. She visits 3-5 clients each day. It's harvest time, so it's a busy time for her.
"We operate on a three week cycle, so every three weeks we visit all of our hives at least once. The bee keeping changes depending on the season. During harvest time, we go to the hives, harvest some of the honey while still leaving enough for the bees and move on."
Hart said more and more people choose where they live and where they work based on conservation and sustainability efforts.
"It's a big draw for residential buildings. That's why they bring the bees because tenants get excited about it because they want to live somewhere where they welcome honey bees," Hart said.
Most of Alveole's hives are outside office buildings, elementary schools, hotels and residential buildings.
"I have building engineers and tenants all the time at the hive who start out really afraid, and then, it evolves with a nice relationship. I get pictures from my clients about the beehive. People have really warmed up to it, and I hope it's here to stay because we want to welcome pollinators to our cities as well," said Hart.
Hart said part of Alveole's mission is to educate people about bees' importance for the ecosystem.
"I think there is a lot of fear around bees and pollinators in general. We want to highlight pollinators and use honey bees as a tool because they are comfortable and accustomed to human beings in their hive. I can hand someone a frame of bees and give them a really tangible up close experience with the bees. That's our mission, to get people more comfortable and overcome that fear and know that pollinators are responsible for two-thirds of what we eat."
There are 4,000 species of bees in North America alone.
There is a common misconception that honey bees need to be saved. We need to include all pollinators. Us installing a bee hive isn't necessarily going to save bees, but what it is going to do is increase awareness, and we get to tell people about the pollinators who are threatened and how they can help. They are threatened and we are working towards it."
Hart harvested from the Swissotel's hives last week and the honey will be used for specialty drinks and for purchase.
A strong hive can be home to up to 50,000 bees. Beekeeping season is early Spring to late fall. For more information, click here.
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