Colorado Public Radio’s headquarters has some new residents —150,000 of them to be precise.
Three beehives have found their permanent home on the roof of CPR’s building in Centennial, Colo. The colorful box hives were installed on Aug. 22 with approximately 50,000 bees in each one. While the thought of countless pollinators on your roof may leave some station owners beemused, according to a CPR press release, the unlikely pairing is the result of a blooming partnership with Free Range Beehives.
“When we found out this was an option for our building, we began exploring it right away,” said Stewart Vanderwilt, president and CEO of CPR, in the release. “It’s a great opportunity for us to improve our environmental stewardship by taking an unused space and providing a home for thousands of honeybees.”
Free Range Beehive’s mission is to provide employee wellness programs centered around the health and well-being of local honeybee populations by caring for beehives on corporate properties.
According to CPR, the location of its headquarters and the available space, in addition to the partnership with Free Range Beehives, all proved to be a match made in heaven — sweeter than honey, if you will.
“There are numerous pollinator-friendly plants in the area to keep the honeybee populations thriving,” said CPR. “Throughout the fall, the bees will fill their hives with honey, about 90 pounds in each one. This insulation will protect them through the winter, and they will reemerge in the spring.”
Mike Rosol, CEO and co-founder of Free Range Beehives said, “Our organizations share similar values, serving our communities with respect, inclusiveness and curiosity. We strive to educate professionals in their work setting so that they can make better individual choices at home on how to support the honeybee population. It is great to partner with another organization that cares about and supports the communities we live in.”
As the beehives at CPR are on the roof, they will be inaccessible to employees. CPR did say, however, that its staff looks forward to the homemade honey at the end of the season.
