Vancouver Abuzz with Rooftop Farming

Who said rooftop farming was limited solely to the cultivation of fruits and vegetables? Vancouver surely didn't. As part of its stride to be the greenest city in the world Vancouver is moving ahead with the demonstration of two beehives on the roof of its City Hall. More than 60,000 bees already call the city's Convention Center home, which boasts four beehives on its 2.4 hectare green roof. Numerous other hives have also been established for some time at the University of British Columbia, Science World, and VanDusen Botanical Garden. This most recent introduction, however, comes as part of the city's plan to increase local food production by way of an increase in urban gardens. And of course, no pollinators are more prominent in Canada than the honeybee.

The same can be said for numerous other regions across the world. More than 84% of crop species in Europe, for instance, depend directly on insect pollinators. Unfortunately, bee colonies have been disappearing at alarming rates all across the world the past few years, a phenomenon now termed the Colony Collapse Disorder. Seeing that one-third of the human diet is made up of plants that require pollination from honeybees, this disorder has quickly grabbed the attention of the scientific community across the world. Many attribute the devastation to the use of systemic pesticides, which spread throughout all parts of a plant and consequently get transported back to a honeybee's hive via its pollen. For more on this crisis check out the most recent article in this past week's NY Times article.

Whichever the cause, one thing is certain. Bees raised in urban settings have found much more success than their countryside counterparts over the past few years, mainly due to the absence of pesticides and consistent rotation of flowers and plants within the city. In Paris, bee hives have been sprouting up all over the city's rooftops, gardens, balconies, and parks in an effort to preserve the precious pollinator, with more than 300 registered hives now in the city. The Opéra Garnier is home to more than 140,000 bees alone. Additionally, these city dwellers could produce up to five times the output of those limited to single crops in rural areas, while also losing less than 5% of their colonies on a year over year basis compared to the 50% colony losses experienced in the countryside.

With a requirement for hives to be at least 25 meters from hospitals and schools and with a two meter screen if not established on a high roof, it appears that the cities have found an appropriate balance for incorporating these busy workers into city life. There's no question that highly effective urban farming techniques like these are here to stay. It's simply a matter of how we view them and embrace them for the best. In the words of Andrea Reimer, a member of Vancouver's Green Action Team who is allergic to bee stings herself, "Now we know if we don't have pollinators, we don't have tomatoes or cherry blossoms."

Paris photo by Franco Zecchin