Meet John, Founder of Rooftop Bees
As part of RESET, Fed Square’s month-long festival of sustainability-focused events and activities, Rooftop Bees installed two beehives on our roof. Visitors were able to go on a tour to visit these hives, as well attend an introduction to beekeeping workshop.
Hi John! Tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to be involved with Rooftop Bees.
My name is John Prince, founder of Rooftop Bees. I started beekeeping following the passing of my mother who had a dream of retiring to the southern highlands of NSW to live a homestead life with market gardens, chickens and bees. At the time I was working as a Chief Operating Officer of a live entertainment publisher and was unhappy with my work life balance. I decided to pick up beekeeping in honour of my mother and I quickly became obsessed with the magical world of bees and how important they are to our planet and people. I quickly started coming up with business ideas centred around bees. Following months of research here and abroad I found that there was no one in Australia specialising in providing professional beekeeping services to corporate clients.
What does Rooftop Bees do and why is the work you do important?
Rooftop Bees installs and maintains beehives for corporate organisations to achieve sustainability and environmental outcomes. We deliver workshops and experiences centred around bees that help corporate organisations and their staff, patrons and tenants make meaningful connections with nature through bees.
Where is the most unusual place you have installed a rooftop beehive?
The most unusual place actually isn’t on a rooftop. We manage beehives for the Reserve Bank of Australia and we have bees where they print money and passports. Needless to say, it’s high security access and most of the site is restricted access so I haven’t been lucky enough to see all the piles of cash being printed!
Fed Square is about to install two beehives on our roof, thanks to Rooftop Bees – tell us about the story of these bees and what you expect they will be doing over the next few months as they settle in?
We are super excited to be bringing bees back to Fed Square. We will be installing two beehives containing approximately 120,000 honey bees (Apis Mellifera).
Honey bees are one of the world’s most important insects playing a critical role in pollinating 71 of the top 100 fruit and vegetable crops that feed 90% of the world.
They are also Mother Nature’s most precious storytellers and have had a symbiotic relationship with ancient civilisations throughout antiquity. Bees and their beehive are also nature’s medicine chest providing natural medicine through the honey and propolis they produce.
Being the start of spring, the timing is perfect for the bees as they will be rapidly expanding their colony size as the weather warms up and there is an abundance of flora in bloom. The bees will be visiting surrounding parks, gardens, bushland and rooftop gardens pollinating an area of approximately 80 square kilometers around Fed Square.
What is the honey like from Rooftop Bees hives?
The honey produced by the rooftop beehives will be a reflection of the local flora that’s in bloom at any given time. The colour, aroma, viscosity and flavour profiles will change throughout the season as different species of trees and flowers come into bloom.
The bees will be spoilt for choice given the proximity to the botanical gardens and the parklands along the banks of the Yarra.
If people at home are interested in bringing bees to their own community – what is your advice?
The most important advice I give to anyone wanting to get involved with bees is do your research. There are lots of great beekeeping clubs across Victoria. You can find more information and your local club on the Victorian Recreational Beekeepers Association website. Try and link up with a beekeeper who can become your mentor and show you how to get started. It’s also important to make sure you or anyone in your family isn’t allergic to bees as a bee sting can lead to serious illness. If honey bees don’t sound like your thing, you can still help bees and pollinators by planting out your garden with flowering plants. Try to purchase raw honey directly from a beekeeper knowing you are supporting a beekeeper and their bees.
Follow the Fed Square beehives on our Bee Cam.
- John and Renata from Rooftop Bees, at Fed Square for the opening of the two beehives.
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