In a corporate social responsibility initiative, Canyon Brewing is sponsoring three thriving beehives in Arthur’s Point, near Queenstown.
Bee the Change founder, Neal McAloon, has placed five apiaries (hive locations) across the district in a bid to help save the bees and grow educational awareness.
Go Orange marketing manager Emma Hansen says she’s thrilled Canyon Brewing is part of the initiative.
"Here at Canyon Brewing we want to give back to our Arthur’s Point community as much as possible and Bee the Change seemed a perfect fit.
"On top of helping make a difference in this fight to save the bees, the bees also pollinate nearby fruit trees, providing free fruit for the community in years to come."
The Arthur’s Point apiary is on the School House Reserve.
Neal says the bees are strategically placed to get the best pollination.
"They’re located in public spaces accompanied by educational signage which will be installed shortly.
"Our future and their future is intertwined. There are many, many diseases increasing around the world so by supporting Bee the Change companies are growing awareness about the importance of bees and what people can do in their own environment to help improve the bees environment.
"The Apiculture industry and bees are under a lot of pressure globally. Our long term mission is to build up strong colonies in the district so when crises strikes around the world we could be in a position to help send apiaries elsewhere."
Once ready, the honey will be harvested and sold, at a highly discounted rate, back to Canyon and other companies which are part of the initiative.
Without bees, other consequences to our food chain would come knocking, which would be dire to food sources around the world
"The global decline of bees is a problem we all face. Without bees we won’t have food so Canyon is doing what we can to help in this fight," Emma says.
Neal says he is grateful for their support.
"Hospitability businesses take from the food supply which bees are an intrinsic part of. By getting involved with Bee the Change, Canyon is helping with bee resilience.
"It goes in a cycle: Canyon Brewing takes from the environment, bees help create the food they take and now they’re giving back to the honeybee species."
All businesses and individuals involved with Bee the Change pay an initial start-up fee and then a continuous yearly fee to help with the upkeep of hives.
