Photo Source: Associated Press
Most people have heard of green roofs, but this is a whole new definition. The Waldorf-Astoria hotel is buzzing with new guests. The hotel, in the heart of New York City, has installed beehives on their roof, and is now playing host to roughly a quarter of a million bees.
The recent drop in bee numbers was the driving force behind the initiative. New York City plans on planting one million new trees in the coming decade. These trees will require pollination, and the bees will help make this possible; flying up to three miles away from the hives to pollinate different plants around the city.
The hotel and its guest will also benefit from their new rooftop neighbors. Guests can tour the six-rooftop beehives. The honey may also be used to benefit guests with allergies, “as local honey is said to be one of the most effective treatments for hay fever.”
The honey collected from the hives is also to be used as an ingredient throughout the restaurant’s menu. “You get something back out of it in that you get sustainable honey. I am no longer having to go out and get packaged honey from hundreds of miles away,” said Andrew Gajary, general manager of Intercontinental NY Times Square. There should be plenty of it. The Waldorf is expecting their numbers to swell to over 300,000 bees by the end of the summer.
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