Keeping bees on the roof of the office - Advice needed

[RichBee]

Our workplace is looking into the possibility of keeping bees on the roof. We have a meeting on Wednesday to discuss and before I go I wanted to have a few questions to ask to make sure that it has been thought through.

The biggest one concerns insurance and liability. How does it work if a company keeps bees on their premises? Does the company have to do anything special or can they (or individuals from it) join the local bee keeping association.

The other thing we need to tackle is the general lack of knowledge about bees. Here's a comment from our message board on the subject:

What is they escape into the building via a vent or cooling shaft

There has also been general concern over the threat of being stung but given that the bees will be kept on the roof the only people likely to be stung are the bee keepers!

Do any of you look after 'corporate' rooftop bee hives?

 

[MuswellMetro]

I have been asked to consider looking after bees on a London roof near Kings Cross london, it is part of a Green Roof project BUT i have not said yes. There is a company who does it but charges quite high, they also share any honey 50:50

Who in your organsisation is going to look after the Bees, it is not a question of buying a beehive and filling it full of bees

i would only allow a beekeeper with at least 4 years experience to look after bees on a office building, it should not be a beginner with a two day course behind him or someone who thinks it would nice to play with bees

What type of Hive A standard hive like a langstroth or National style hive needs to be inspected EVERY 7 days from April to July, otherwise it can swarm ( swarm bees are more a nuisance rather than a danger), Top Bar Hives need less attention but in my limited experience of often swarm

Insurance cover £5,000,000 is the usual personal liability insurance and it normal rests with the Beekeeper and his membership of a local association to arrange this through a broker or with British Bee Keepers Assocotaion

Corporate membership Sorry no idea

safety of Bees like gardens bees all can be OK for years then one bad mating an they become aggressive, this is more prevalent in london due to the large mixed foreign bees being brought in by beginner and there being no large pool a mongrel Bee DNA


if you want to see bees my hives are near mill Hill east Tube station on the Northern line ( the little tube branch at the top)

 

[djg]

For general information, I would recommend looking at www.lukedixon.co.uk . Luke is a stalwart of the LBKA and a champion of the roof-top beekeeper.

When I applied to keep bees on the roof of my workplace, this is how I framed my request. This may help you "reverse-engineer" your own requirements (I also attached pdfs of my Insurance and Basic Exam certificate):

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is ********and I am a ******************. I am proposing to maintain a hive of honeybees on the exterior balcony area of the 5th floor of ******************. I have obtained permission from ***********, acting London office manager, and **********, operational manager.

I am a Member of the London Bee-Keepers Association (LBKA) http://www.lbka.org.uk and have passed the “Basic Beekeeping Assessment” (see attachment) and I have an Insurance Policy which covers me for Public Liability Insurance (cover up to £5m) and Product Liability Insurance (cover up to £2m) – see Insurance attachments, which I have just noticed expired on 28th October 2010, but have been renewed for 2010-11.

I currently keep several hives on the 4th-storey roof of my house just south of Tower Bridge and am well-connected to the LBKA, an extremely knowledgeable group of local Beekeepers.

There has been a good deal of publicity about the plight of bees recently (see this BBC News item about London roof-top beekeeping http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8148217.stm) and many individuals and companies have offered welcome assistance to beekeepers, no doubt enjoying the sense of contributing to a natural environment and also of enhancing their own “green” credentials.

I would be delighted if you would consider my request and I offer these further few thoughts for your consideration.

• The great advantage of keeping bees at altitude is that their flight lines remain a very long way away from pedestrian traffic and so are removed from causing any possible nuisance. An experienced bee-keeper will ensure that his stock of bees is good-natured and productive. Bee hives are highly portable and can be removed at short notice, if required.

• The great surprise about keeping bees in the city is the huge and varied amounts of forage available to them (parks, gardens, eco-rooves, waste ground, railway cuttings), and the really good news is that this forage is also free from pesticides, unlike rural areas, thus ensuring healthy bees.

• Beekeeping is a low-intensity, high-knowledge activity. During the Spring and Summer, a 10-minute weekly inspection per hive is all that is required to maintain a healthy and productive colony.

• I would propose that any Beehive on the roof would be secured by a stout strap to the metal railings on the horizontal plane as well as on the vertical plane, thus avoiding any prospect of hive-parts been blown off the roof.

I look forward to hearing from you at your convenience and answering any questions which you may have about this specific proposal or bee-keeping in general.

In the end, my American HQ declined to give ultimate permission for this, although the local business managers and the building managers were keen to proceed.

With bee hives on the roofs of Fortnum and Mason, the Festival Hall, Royal Lancaster Hotel and many more, I hope that you will soon be enjoying bees on your roof-top, too.

 

[Tom Bick]

If you google Urban Bees they look after plenty of hives on rooftops around London the Lloyds building and St Pauls to name a few, they will have some good information that may help.

“What is they escape into the building via a vent or cooling shaft”

I think more like what if they swarm?

I doubt that they will enter the building but they just may consider a cooling shaft a good place to set up home providing they will have an entry hole or grill.

 

[RichBee]

Thanks for all your replies. DJG's is very helpful and a good template for a business case and dealing with the fears some of my colleagues may have. I'll have a look at the luke dixon link too.

I have just started learning about bee keeping through the Plan Bee (joint venture between urban bees and Co-op) but there will be experienced keepers involved! I'm not so green as to think I could manage a hive like that on my own.

I'll check with the estates people to see whether they have grills on the cooling vents and that if they do what size the holes are.

 

[djg]

Rich Bee,

Oops, I think that you should follow Tom Bicks's advice about the www.urbanbeekeeping.co.uk site to read up on Luke Dixon and roof-top urban beekeeping - the www.lukedixon.co.uk site is more about his theatrical activities!

Sorry for the misleading waggle-dance!

 

[RichBee]

Rich Bee,

Oops, I think that you should follow Tom Bicks's advice about the www.urbanbeekeeping.co.uk site to read up on Luke Dixon and roof-top urban beekeeping - the www.lukedixon.co.uk site is more about his theatrical activities!

Sorry for the misleading waggle-dance!

And there was me thinking I was being initiated like being sent for a 'long stand'...

I've downloaded the article on roof top bee keeping. I'll add it to the growing file o' stuff along with the National Bee Unit materials.

Thanks again!

 

[Midland Beek]

The owner of bees are the liable party. It does not matter where that person's beehives are located or who is operating the colonies - the owner has responsibility in terms of liability.

Perhaps the way to go would be for one employee to assume ownership of the bees and for him/her to join the BBKA so he/she gets Third Party liability insurance. However, the BBKA might also be able to do a group membership.

It is a responsibility of the owner of any bees to place and operate the colonies in question so as to minimize the possibility of stinging incidents.

As far as swarms go, I believe they are classed as a 'natural phenomenon'. However, as soon as a beekeeper 'claims' them, and perhaps attempts a collection, then the swarm then becomes his/her responsibility.

 

[RichBee]

Just had a really good meeting with the other interested parties. Of the six of us two have over 5 years experience of keeping bees so they will act as mentors for the less experienced.

One question came up was whether or not we would need to provide some plants nearby. We'll already be supplementing their food intake with sugar syrup so would it be necessary to have pot plants?

What would be the best of way of providing a water source for a rooftop bee hive?

 

[Poly Hive]

Forget plants they are ranging over 1.5 miles which equates to 7 square miles so what odd one pot plant?

You can provide a bowl of water with some cat litter in it but they will find a source themselves PDQ and then most likely ignore yours.

Do please think about how to secure them from wind.

Five years experience sounds a lot does it not but if that is with a couple of colonies actually it is not a great deal at all. Five years with fifty is another matter entirely.

Have fun.

PH

 

[susbees]

One question came up was whether or not we would need to provide some plants nearby. We'll already be supplementing their food intake with sugar syrup so would it be necessary to have pot plants?

Look out from the office roof....any lime trees? Parks? Good number of well-stocked private gardens? Kew would be good of course but some public parks are well stocked with useful plants and trees.

 

[andycadman]

I once kept bees on the flat roof of a school very successfully for several years. Took the children up in very small groups (long way from the edge so quite safe). Then I wrote an article in a journal. The county architects saw it and then told me I had to take them off.

Took them down to ground level with a six foot fence around and at the back of a large greenhouse so the children could observe them. There they remained for the next seventeen years until I moved schools. They were a big hit.

 

[RichBee]

Forget plants they are ranging over 1.5 miles which equates to 7 square miles so what odd one pot plant?

You can provide a bowl of water with some cat litter in it but they will find a source themselves PDQ and then most likely ignore yours.

Do please think about how to secure them from wind.

Five years experience sounds a lot does it not but if that is with a couple of colonies actually it is not a great deal at all. Five years with fifty is another matter entirely.

Have fun.

PH

They are currently looking into the best way to secure the hive against the wind.

One of the members with 5 years experience is an active member of their local association and has looked after many hives in addition to his own two.

Look out from the office roof....any lime trees? Parks? Good number of well-stocked private gardens? Kew would be good of course but some public parks are well stocked with useful plants and trees.

I thought as much but just wanted to double check. We have plenty of parks nearby so they should be happy enough with that.

 

[andycadman]

Here is one of the hives on the school roof (in the 1970's):

Sorry did not work for some reason, the url for image is:


http://s661.photobucket.com/albums/uu333/RuralStudies/?action=view&current=BeeRoof.jpg

 

[Skyhook]

One downside that no-one's mentioned to keeping bees at work- when you're in the middle of a boring project, it's very distracting to know you could be out there watching them...

 

[RichBee]

One downside that no-one's mentioned to keeping bees at work- when you're in the middle of a boring project, it's very distracting to know you could be out there watching them...

That was actually mentioned at the meeting "can I do this full time as my job's really boring at the moment? "

 

[Tom Bick]

What part of London are we talking about RB it’s a big old place and often has better forage than people give credit for.

 

[RichBee]

What part of London are we talking about RB it’s a big old place and often has better forage than people give credit for.

Westminster, so we have St James' Park and Green Park on our doorstep and Hyde Park down the road. There's also Lambeth Palace Gardens.

We should be fine but I know from our bee inspector that the weather and conditions have been working against the bees so any new hives will have to be fortified with feed to give them a fighting chance.

 

[Tom Bick]

Yes spring was good in London but it has been poor for the last 3-4 weeks and central London will perhaps suffer worse than the rest of London.

Without the spring forage and the build up of stores it would not surprise me if hives don’t need feeding.

You just may be surprised as to the amount of hives within your location your bees if you go for it will definitely not be alone and may rub shoulders bees from some rather smart addresses.

Good look it looks as though you are going about it the right way.

 

[djg]

The London Evening Standard has re-heated this old chestnut today:

http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle...humble-bee-7986921.html?origin=internalSearch

Perhaps that explains why there are 551 Apiaries within a 10km radius of me !