Bees living in roof of St John's College in Cork produce A-grade honey

Busy bees living on the roof of a city centre college have just produced A-grade honey.

And the team behind the bee project at St John’s Centre College in Cork hope to keep the pots of their own Mil Milis rolling off the production line after adding a second hive - effectively doubling the bee population.

“Cities can make surprisingly good homes for bees,” a spokesperson for St John’s said.

“Honey bees forage up to four kilometers from their hives. From the roof of St John’s Central College in the city centre, parks, gardens, trees and weedy patches as far away as the Lee Fields, Ballyvolane, Douglas and Blackrock are all within range.

“The diversity of blossoms is great, more than is available in intensively farmed countryside.”

The rooftop beehive project was the brainchild of Matt O’Neill, a skateboarding carpenter from Boston, Massachusetts, who had experience of beekeeping in his home state when he arrived at St John’s to study environmental science in September 2018.

He worked with college staff, including caretakers, teachers, cleaners and administrators, to get the project going.

Vital training and the first bee colony was provided by Mark Riordan of Hive Mind in Myrtleville - a group which helps beekeepers and the beekeeping industry.

Customers pay a yearly subscription to manage and maintain one of Hive Mind’s colonies, with the reward in Autumn of the honey harvested from the apiary.

The project was also backed by the South Parish Learning Neighbourhood and by the Green Spaces for Health initiative, which is part of the Cork Healthy Cities project.

By early Spring, a group of students, staff and members of the local community began keeping beehives on the roof of the college.

They said ivy flowers in various city locations provided a vital last source of nectar before the winter months.

And last week, Lord Mayor, Cllr John Sheehan, donned a bee suit to visit the rooftop project and taste the fruits of the bees’ labour.

The college now plans to run a 10-week night-course in beekeeping from January.

One of the college caretakers, Ray Bleutt, a carpenter, is teaming up with Mr Riordan from Hive Mind to teach the course which will include modules on how to build your own hive.