Research indicates solitary bee populations continue to show signs of decline, and loss and fragmentation of habitat is cited as a leading factor. Enter Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, which is providing solitary bees with a place to rest their wings by introducing its first pollinator bee hotel at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York.
Fairmont’s latest project to support bees is part of a larger partnership with Burt’s Bees and its annual Wild For Bees campaign. The two companies, along with Sustainable.TO Architecture + Building and Pollinator Partnership Canada, have designed and constructed five sustainable bee hotels: four in Toronto and one in Guelph, with the first hotel launching at The Fairmont Royal York. Fairmont plans to roll out the project at more hotels next year.
A pollinator bee hotel is a collection of nesting materials (wood, twigs, fallen branches, soil and pith-filled holes) designed to attract, support and protect native, lost and solitary bees by replicating their natural nesting sites. This allows the bees to breed, lay eggs and seek protection from predators. Fairmont’s bee hotel, which is designed to reflect the Toronto skyline, will provide a sustainable nesting site for local pollinator bees.
The Fairmont Royal York’s rooftop garden, which already houses an apiary of six honeybee hives, has been in bloom for more than 15 years and is the perfect spot for the new pollinator bee hotel. The high-rise herbarium features 17 four-poster beds and surrounding planter pots filled with herbs such as rosemary, lavender, lemon thyme, chives, parsley, tarragon and basil. Lemon Verbena, alpine strawberries and mojito mint also have their own beds. Established in 2008, the apiary produces over 800 pounds of rooftop honey each year that is used in the hotel’s kitchens and its local micro-brew called “Royal Stinger.”
Executive Chef Collin Thornton and his team of sous chefs maintain The Fairmont Royal York’s rooftop garden and apiary, and use the garden as a teaching tool for apprentice chefs in how ingredients are produced. To showcase the amazing powers of the pollinator bees, Chef Thornton has created a feature Pollinator Menu for June in Epic Restaurant. Additionally, the hotel’s Library Bar will offer a special “Buzz-tini” with ingredients from the roof, and a complimentary Burt’s Bees lip balm, all to celebrate Fairmont Hotels & Resorts partnership with Wild About Bees.