Watch: Cork employment hub buzzing with excitement over new arrivals

Two hives containing an estimated 60,000 native Irish honey bees have been installed at the Mahon headquarters of global customer experience firm Telus International Ireland to mark World Bee Day

Horticultural therapist at Telus International Ireland, Ciara Parsons with founder of An Beach Dubh, Séadna Mac Giolla Coda as two hives of up to 60,000 native Irish honey bees are introduced to the campus of Telus International Ireland in Mahon, Cork. Picture: Darragh Kane

As if there wasn’t enough buzz in the area already, thousands of native Irish bees have just moved in to one of Cork’s busiest employment hubs.

Two hives containing an estimated 60,000 native Irish honey bees, Apis mellifera mellifera, have been installed at the Mahon headquarters of global customer experience firm Telus International Ireland to mark World Bee Day.

The colony is expected to produce at least 40kg of honey over the next 12 months.

The colony is expected to produce at least 40kg of honey over the next 12 months. Picture: Darragh Kane

Telus worked with beekeeping services company An Beach Dubh on the project to repopulate urban areas with native high-quality bee colonies, raise awareness of the importance of bees, and to promote local biodiversity.

The company is part of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and has already created native meadows in the verges of its car park, planted berry bushes for birds and pollinator-friendly flowers in its garden.

HR director at Telus Miriam Manning and Séadna Mac Giolla Coda. Picture: Darragh Kane

Telus Ireland’s HR manager Miriam Manning said they want to embrace the value of green spaces at their Cork base.

“Mahon is not only where we work; it’s where we live and engage, and we want to play our part in protecting and enhancing it,” she said.

The company’s horticultural therapist, Ciara Parsons, said the garden is already full of bee-friendly wildflowers and staff are certain that the new bees will be happy and healthy in their new home.

“Our team places huge pride in our gardens, and the arrival of these beehives will make our outdoor projects more sustainable than ever, while enhancing biodiversity outside of our campus too,” she said.

Séadna Mac Giolla Coda: 'Irish bee populations have been declining since 1980 as increased development has led to habitat loss.' Picture:  Darragh Kane

Séadna MacGiolla Coda, a fourth-generation beekeeper and founder of An Beach Dubh, installed the hives and will carry out regular apiary inspections over the coming months and run beekeeping demonstrations for staff.

“Irish bee populations have been declining since 1980 as increased development has led to habitat loss. As bees are such important pollinators, this could be devastating for food production and biodiversity,” he said.

“My focus is on the conservation of our native Irish honey bee, and this latest partnership with Telus International Ireland will provide the hives with a safe habitat along with nurturing an understanding and care for bees and pollination within the wider community.” 

Pollinator trail at Fota House

Exploring the new bee pollinator trail at Fota House Aboretum and Gardens in East Cork, are little Bee Charlie Walsh with Pat Deasy of Irish Bee Conservation Project.

Meanwhile, Minister of State at the OPW, Patrick O’Donovan, has opened a new pollinator trail at Fota House Arboretum and Gardens in East Cork, which was developed in partnership with the OPW, the Irish Heritage Trust and the Irish Bee Conservation Project.

It features 12 stations, each telling a different story about pollination and biodiversity. Visitors can use their phones to scan QR codes at each station to access extra information.

And the final stop on the trail is an observation hive where visitors can watch bees busy at work.

Mr O'Donovan said: “The OPW has a strong focus on biodiversity and various award-winning initiatives have been undertaken at many of our properties, such as Castletown House, the Phoenix Park and Scattery Island. I hope that the opening of this trail will encourage everyone to look with fresh eyes at our environment and be mindful of the wildlife that inhabits it.”

It's open this weekend, and it's free.