Urban Bee Hives Installed at The Zenith in Chatswood

On Thursday September 24, Arrow Capital Partners welcomed 120,000 tiny but very important tenants to Chatswood. Two bee hives, in partnership with Rooftop Bees, were opened in The Green Space adjacent to the Pacific Highway.

Believed to be the first bee hives installed at a commercial office building in Chatswood, and potentially across Sydney’s North Shore, the initiative generated significant interest among building tenants and the local community.

The launch event was attended by Angelo Rozos, the Deputy Mayor of Willoughby City Council, who delivered a short address, along with the project’s beekeeper – Hugo Betrand, who spoke about the important role bees play in supporting biodiversity and urban ecosystems.

The initiative includes:

• The two new bee hives are in a purpose-built green space at the ZENITH
• A pollinator-friendly garden has been created surrounding the hives in the green space
• Two queen bees, whose names were chosen through a tenant competition – Beeyonce and Beeatrice were the winning queen bee names.

The General Manager of the Zenith Don, the Deputy Mayor – Angelo Rozos, cut the ribbon and opened the two beehives.

With increasing focus on urban sustainability and biodiversity, the project demonstrates how commercial buildings can contribute positively to the local environment while engaging tenants and the broader community.

The bees spent their first few days orienting themselves to their new environment. The first honey is expected to be harvested in November. The Post looks forward to keeping the community informed of this initiative.

If you want to discover how honeybees support local biodiversity, strengthen healthy urban ecosystems, and help create a lasting connection between people, pollinators and place, in and commercial buildings Rooftop Bees (rooftopbees.com.au), the partner in this initiative will help.

Rooftop Bees was founded in 2019 by John Prince. Following a 16-year corporate career, a series of life changing events led John to the bees. In 2024, Rooftop Bees acquired the beekeeping and honey operations from The Urban Beehive making Rooftop Bees the largest and most trusted urban beekeeping business in Australia managing bees for over 50 leading organisations.