Responsible Property Investment in Montréal: Meeting the challenge of urban beekeeping

Bees are pollinating insects and play a major role in the production of fruits, vegetables and nuts. One third of our diet is based on pollination. With this in mind, the Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM) is taking concrete steps towards sustainable development and is launching a first two-year urban beekeeping pilot project to work at the protection of these insects that are in significant decline around the world.

This morning, the first step was taken to implement this project piloted in collaboration with Alvéole, a social enterprise founded in 2012 in Montréal and that specializes in urban beekeeping. A hive was installed on the roof of one of SHDM’s buildings in the heart of Ville-Marie borough, the Chaussegros-de-Léry complex.

Unlike mosquitoes or wasps, bees very rarely bite and are not interested in the contents of our plates. The installation of the hive on the roof of the building is therefore safe for tenants. It represents, on the other hand, a mobilizing and unifying experience for the SHDM community and an example among others of the actions that the corporation is taking as part of its commitment towards Responsible Property Investment.

Some fascinating facts* about bees:

• A bee flies 70,000 km during its lifetime, the equivalent of three times the orbit of the Earth and lives on average 30 days in summer and three months in winter.
• Unlike mosquitoes or wasps, bees rarely bite since this result in their instant death.
• Bees are vegan and wasps carnivorous. It’s not bees that fly around your dinner plate!
• A queen bee can live for several years and does only one task: egg-laying.
• The more mature worker bees become, the more responsibilities they have! They take on all the roles, in turn, within their colony.
• The worker bees dedicate their lives to the service of their colony and never leave it for another.

* Source : Alvéole