Hundreds of honey bees now call Durham College’s (DC) W. Galen Weston Centre for Food (CFF) home, with the arrival of its first apiary, also known as a bee yard.

According to beesmatter.ca one out of every three bites of food we eat is made possible by pollinators like honey bees. However, honey bees are in decline worldwide due in part to changes in land use, habitat loss, diseases, pesticides, farming practices, pollution, and climate change.

As part of the CFF’s field-to-fork vision, the apiary is a natural fit to further the cycle of sustainability and growth already in place, thanks to features including the pollinator garden, filled with honey bee-friendly flowers, the greenhouses, fruit and vegetable fields and arboretum. It’s a win-win scenario as the bees will help the crops flourish and DC does its part to help protect the honey bee population.

A honey yield is expected in 2018. The fruits of the bees’ labour will be available for sale in Pantry, incorporated into food and drink items available at Bistro ’67, and for use in post-secondary labs.