GREEN BAY (NBC 26) -- On Broadway was able to secure a $1,300 mirco-grant from the Current Young Professionals' Greater Green Bay Support of Urban Projects also known as S.O.U.P.
Thanks to that funding the Urban Beehive Project was put in motion and Green Bay will have its first urban beehives in the summer of 2020.
On Broadway has purchased two hives that will house two colonies on the top of the roof of the newly renovated Rail Yard building in the 500 block of North Broadway.
Marketing Manager and organizer of the Urban Beehive Project, Tawny Casey with On Broadway says the bees will be crucial for the sustainability and the health of new native perennials that will be planted in the Broadway District.
Each year Green Bay spends roughly $5,000 on annual flowers. This year Casey says it will cost about $10,000 to put the new perennials in, but the city will see a savings every year from then on thanks to the bees caring for the flowers and the flowers taking care of the bees.
“Our goal is to create an environment that can take care of itself for years to come,” said Casey.
As for the honey these honeybees could one day produce, Casey says the bees will have to work hard the first year to make honey for them to survive the winter, but if in the future they start to produce a substantial amount they have had a handful of ideas. Nothing has been finalized, but donating the honey or partnering with a local brewery have been some of the ideas in the mix.
