Honeybees on the roof of the “Sugar-cube” – sustainability work for urban biodiversity

Sustainability work in the world of real estate can take many forms – and sometimes it takes the form of wings. This was the case in Kanavaranta 1 in the summer of 2022, when a colony of approx. 100 000 honeybees inhabited the roof of the building in two beehives.

In addition to providing their valuable pollination service to the plants of the surrounding area, the honeybees also act as ambassadors for the wild bees by increasing the public’s awareness of the importance of wild pollinators and the problems threatening them.

A significant objective behind the project is exploring the diversity of urban nature in cooperation with researchers from the University of Helsinki. The pilot project started in the summer of 2022 and its findings will give valuable insight to the researchers and hopefully help develop a more pollinator-friendly urban environment in the future. As a sweet byproduct of the project, the bees produced dozens of kilos of unique urban honey during the summer.

HumbleBee Housing Project is a company specializing in urban beekeeping and maintains beehives in several properties owned by Deka. Thus, the company was also chosen as the implementor of Kanavaranta’s bee project. The founder of HumbleBee, Aapo Reuter, was involved in all stages of the project, from retrieving the bees from the countryside to spinning and bottling the honey. Now, Reuter tells us what urban beekeeping is like, how research and responsibility are united in the project, and what makes urban honey so special.

Pollinators in urban environment

The honeybees collect nectar from the plants within about 2 km radius from their hive. Therefore, the honeybees of Kanavaranta participated in pollinating downtown’s various plants and urban plantations, while looking for food.

So, what kind of environment is the city from the bee’s point of view?

“Surprisingly good compared to the rural environment”, tells Reuter. “In the city, there is typically food for the bees throughout the summer – thanks to the green planning done by the cities. Based on research, the food is also more diverse and closer on average than in the countryside, where after one cultivated species has bloomed, the bees may have to fly longer to find food. To sum up, the services are closer in the city for the bees as well.”

Beekeeping in the city offers valuable information and enables intelligent green planning

Urban beekeeping is a unique opportunity to explore the nature in the city because the flower nectar collected by honeybees conveys versatile information about the nearby plants. Researchers at the University of Helsinki – including PhD researcher Lotta Kaila, who manages the pilot project – analyze the honey from Kanavaranta using DNA technology and interpret the following information from the samples:

What kind of plants are growing in the surrounding area?

What kind of plants are missing in the region and which species are too few?

Is there food for pollinators throughout the summer?

By analyzing the honey samples, the researchers are able to form a comprehensive overall picture of the situation nearby Kanavaranta, which hopefully will assist the development of the area in the future.

The aim of the bee research is to enable intelligent green planning to ideally support the diversity of the surrounding environment, when implementing city’s future green construction. In addition, the research may help enhance flower continuum, so that there will be flowering plants for pollinators throughout the summer.

In summary, urban beekeeping sustained by real estates is a valuable tool in developing more sustainable cities, where nature and people live side by side in harmony.

Urban honey tells the story of one summer

And what does urban honey taste like?

The taste is unique, nuanced, and different every year. The Kanavaranta honey literally tastes like the landscape of the Helsinki city center – getting its flavor from the trees of Esplanadi park and Kaivopuisto, garden plants and residents’ balcony plantations.

As an interesting detail, Reuter says that linden flowers give urban honey a minty and cool aftertaste. Linden trees’ flowers are also an important source of nectar for urban bees; three linden trees can produce the same amount of nectar as a whole football field of clover. Furthermore, each summer leaves its special mark on the honey – bees don’t fly in the rain, so the nectar of plants blooming during rainy weeks can be left uncollected and thus be left out of the season’s flavor palette.

Despite potential prejudices, urban honey is clean and doesn’t contain exhaust gases or small particles. This is possible because honeybees transfer the nectar to the hives through membranes, filtering out any impurities. And since the city parks have an abundance of different types of ornamental plants, the taste of urban honey may have exotic nuances that cannot be found in honey produced in the countryside.

Sustainability work with bees is to be continued

When the honey from Kanavaranta was bottled, altogether 40 kg of golden yellow honey was obtained. Now, it is our pleasure to share this responsibly produced delicacy with our customers and stakeholders – at the same time supporting the diversity of the surrounding area and raising awareness around this important topic.

The honeybees have now returned to the countryside, but next summer they will return to the roof of Kanavaranta 1. The research work for biodiversity will also continue by gathering further information from the new samples. The taste of the honey will also be new and one of a kind – telling the story of summers to come.