Bee city launched at one of city of bees' most iconic towers

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The city of bees now has a bee city in one of its most iconic buildings, City Tower. Bosses at the tower have installed an apiary of four beehives on its second floor.

Now, as well as scores of companies and a university, 320,000 bees call it home. City Tower’s beehive sits in front of a bee-themed mural created by Mustard Tree volunteer, Graham Hudson.

Designed with 22 bees – one for each victim of the Manchester Arena Attack — the creation also depicts the wildflowers situated within the apiary’s planters. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. Join our FREE Manchester City Centre WhatsApp group by clicking here Graham, a former offender, was homeless for three years and was referred to Mustard Tree from a hostel.

Graham spent time in prison, which is where he taught himself to paint. The bees were then homed by John Beavan from Nurture Landscapes, who has managed beehives for more than 23 years. “Worker bees are part of Manchester’s cultural identity and they are very lucky that the city has a diverse and vast supply of forage and trees along major transport routes and within green spaces,” John said. “A number of new pollinator-friendly installations, such as this one at City Tower, are exactly what bees need to survive and thrive and there aren’t many companies that go to the lengths that the building owners and managers have in order to support the colony on an ongoing basis.” With four hives in pace, it means there are four Queen Bees — so staff at the offices have held a naming competition for them.