To celebrate Bee Aware month we’ve rounded up the ways you can do your bit to help the bees.

It’s hard not to love bees. Not only are they an essential part of the ecosystem, they are endlessly fascinating with their quirks, intelligence and ability to survive.

Fun fact: The 1984 Space Shuttle Challenger mission took 3400 worker bees and one queen into space. By the end of the seven-day mission the bees had adapted to microgravity and were able to produce honeycomb – the queen even laid around 30 eggs.​

That said, these winged wonders still need our help in order to thrive in an urban environment and all Aucklanders can get involved. 

Bees in the city

Auckland’s inner city is probably one of the last places you’d expect to find bees, but you may be surprised!

There are beehives located on the Auckland Town Hall and Aotea Centre. The Town Hall hives act as an early-warning system for threats to bees arriving through the port and are monitored regularly for exotic diseases and pests.

Bottling of the honey is handled by the beekeepers who manage the beehives. Some honey is presented as civic gifts and some is sold to raise funds for the continual maintenance of the town hall hives and bee health. Most recently honey from the Aotea Centre hives was gifted as a welcome to the Matilda crew.

If you’d like to connect with city bees, then For the Love Of Bees is the project for you. This city-wide collaboration aims to bring bees and other pollinators back into the heart of Auckland, and is supported by Auckland Council and the Auckland Design Office.

The project provides multiple opportunities for residents to learn more about and interact with bees including: 

Participants gather at a Bike Bee. Photo by Sarah Smuts-Kennedy