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Bee Downtown creates buzz in Atlanta

These hives are like little ‘Where's Waldos’ around the town, an organizer says.

ATLANTA — Honey bees stay active in colder months, and they live on the honey they've stored. It's happening all over Atlanta, in bright bee buildings that house hives. 

It's part of an effort to keep 30 square miles of the city beautiful.

"These hives are like little ‘Where's Waldos’ all over around the town," Leigh-Kathryn Bonner of Bee Downtown explained. "You'll find them at Piedmont Park. You'll see them at the parking deck at Ponce. You'll see these painted boxes popping up all over Atlanta."

The Ponce City Market hives are part of a "bee team" initiative which already includes companies like Delta, AT&T, Cox Enterprises, Invesco and more.

"I wanted to help rebuild healthy honey bee populations. Studies show that honey bees do thrive in urban environments," Bonner said. "So what we started doing is looking to corporations to join the 'bee team’ and be part of the movement to bring sustainable agriculture back to cities and also to help one of the world's most precious pollinators."

“They’re going to be pollinating over 18,000 acres within the surrounding communities of Ponce,” Bonner said. “These hives are in the heart of Atlanta, they are the newest part of the Atlanta skyline."

In addition to hive projects in both Atlanta and North Carolina, Bee Downtown is busy with other local initiatives, including the Spring 2020 BDT Leadership Institute. The institute will focus on self-awareness, storytelling, and building and leading high-performing teams. The group will also host a showcase event for HR executives in Atlanta Jan. 23, 2020, where human resource leaders can come out and experience how we use the lessons of the hive to teach critical leadership skills.

Can’t wait for more bee news? Check out Bee Downtown’s new podcast "The Bees-ness of Leadership."

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