Adelaide Convention Centre has provided a home to a quarter of a million honey bees on the roof of the centre. The initiative is called “Riverbank Hive”, and is aimed supporting biodiversity while also providing a local source of honey for culinary purposes.
The initiative was developed by the Adelaide Convention Centre team in partnership with Australian beekeeper Jake Leske. It consists of six individual beehives, cared for by the Centre’s in-house apiarists, Callan Berry and Melinda Fleetwood, who are longstanding members of Adelaide Convention Centre’s culinary team.
Sarah Goldfinch, GM of Adelaide Convention Centre, said: “The Riverbank Hive is a living example of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and finding new ways to create positive impact beyond our walls.
“Bees play a vital role in pollinating many of the foods we eat, making them essential to healthy ecosystems and future food security.”
Gavin Robertson, executive chef of Adelaide Convention Centre, added, “As more venues and restaurants embrace hyper-local produce, the Riverbank Hive takes that concept to new heights, producing honey just metres from our kitchen.
“There’s growing interest in ingredients with a genuine connection to place – it doesn’t get much closer than honey from our own rooftop. We expect each hive will produce roughly 50-60 kilograms of honey each year.”
Find out more about Riverbank Hive and ACC’s sustainability initiatives here.
