Bees are buzzing around Kaiser Permanente Georgia’s Glenlake facility in Sandy Springs after the organization partnered with Bee Downtown to install three beehives.
Kaiser Permanente Georgia hosted an Earth Week event with Bee Downtown on April 17 to educate employees about pollinators. They got to sample honey and view the beehives that will be on the property for at least two years.
Dave C. Van Voorhis, manager of strategic partnerships for Kaiser Permanente, said the current partnership is a two-year commitment, but is likely to continue as it’s very popular in the Atlanta region. He read a short item about Bee Downtown two months ago, which sparked the partnership.
Bee Downtown brought three hives to the Glenlake facility. Each will have between 50,000 and 60,000 bees. The Sandy Springs site was chosen as a good spot for the pollinators, which stay within a 3-mile radius.
An ornamental fence was erected around the hives to provide space between the bees and the staff. Kaiser Permanente is looking to plant some additional landscaping that are bee friendly, whether it’s annuals or other kinds of flowers or shrubs, he said.
Mayor Rusty Paul said he was delighted about the beehives, which is called “crucial to our food supply and the regeneration of many of our trees.”
“And they make great neighbors; if you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you,” Paul said.
Bee Downtown beekeepers and enthusiasts will maintain the hives and provide an educational component to Kaiser Permanente, Voorhis said.
“Part of it is just truly understanding and appreciating the meanings but it’s also as much a commitment to the environment and to the community as well,” he said.
