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THE PLACE TO BEE
In keeping with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts’ commitment to sustainable hotel management, each Fairmont property undertakes an environmental project of their choosing.
The Fairmont Waterfront opted to welcome honeybees, providing a symbiotic relationship between the hives and the existing rooftop herb garden, creating a safe home for the bees and pollination of the flowers and plants. The introduction of the bees is also part of an innovative step in the imagination and exploration of our culinary team, led by Executive Chef Patrick Doré. On June 26, 2008 The Fairmont Waterfront welcomed two hives of honeybees, located on the north side of the third-floor terrace and adjacent to our 2,100 square-foot rooftop herb garden.
Our commitment to the bees is not limited to our Culinary team alone, Graeme Evans, our Director of Housekeeping, has completed bee-keeping certification with the Honey Bee Centre and is our in-house bee-keeper. Graeme's responsibilities include hive inspections, ensuring our habit is amenable to the bees, planting of favourable foliage, pre-paring the over-wintering site and best of all harvesting the honey!
The world population of bees is in decline, and our aim in having bee hives at the hotel is to help with ecology in surrounding areas by the pollination of various species of flowers and plants in places such as Stanley Park and other flower and herb gardens in and around Vancouver. Honeybees are essential to our agriculture and have been estimated to be worth one billion dollars annually for their pollination of Canadian crops.
On August 27, 2008 the first batch of Fairmont Waterfront honey was harvested – a total of 300 pounds produced in two months!
HOW WILL THE FAIRMONT WATERFRONT USE THE HOUSE-GROWN HONEY?
Guest amenities including royal jelly honey, clover and lavender beeswax soap and honey sticks Restaurant dishes: spinach salad with honey and spiced pecans; honeycomb accompaniments on cheese boards; bee pollen in daily smoothies and fruit parfaits; herb garden rose petals will be steeped in the honey and then added to yogurt for use in fruit skewers and fruit plates Honey inspired cocktails in Herons Lounge
