(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A former Chicago Public Schools teacher is using his retirement to help the city -- and planet -- keep buzzing with some of the most important creatures.
Retired teacher Al Renslow lives at Admiral at the Lake senior living center on the North Side. He's the resident beekeeper and works with several "Admiral Bee Buddies" to care for several hives on the 13th floor.
Each hive has about 40,000 to 50,000 bees in them, buzzing around, making honey and preserving the planet.
"Bees," Renslow said, "are really essential for the productivity of different farms. And what makes urban bees most interesting is they have a more diverse diet than they have on farms.
"Here in the city they have a tremendous variety of plants to be able to get their nectar and pollen from, and it creates healthier bees. So, it's really good for the bees in the entire country. So, there's a movement for urban honey."
Renslow and his fellow "bee-lievers," as they call themselves, bottle honey and sell it at cost for $6 a bottle. They've harvested about 60 pounds of honey this year, he said.
He said the planet needs bees because they help the food-production cycle for everyone. Without bees, food production would drop by 60 percent, he said.
Al Renslow shows some of the product made by bees at his retirement high riseTerry Keshner
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