TWO of Glasgow’s leading hotels have partnered with the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in the city to introduce beehives to the hospice gardens.
The initiative, led by Voco Grand Central and Kimpton Blythswood Square, aims to enhance the wellbeing of patients by providing fresh honey and fostering a connection with nature.
Each beehive houses between 50,000 and 100,000 bees, producing honey for patients and jars of honey for sale in the hospice gift shop.
All proceeds will support the hospice’s maintenance and operations.
The hives, officially named Let it Bee and Buzzingham Palace, were handed over in a ceremony attended by staff from the hotels and the hospice.
Marcello Ventisei, cluster general manager at both hotels, and Donna Doig, director of facilities and engineering at Voco Grand Central, donned beekeeper suits on the day.
Marcello expressed his delight, saying: “We are thrilled to be able to contribute to the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in such a meaningful way.
“I hope the honey produced by the hives brings a little sweetness to the day for hospice patients.”
In addition to the beehives, the hotels have donated jars of honey ready for immediate sale, ensuring the hospice can begin benefitting from the initiative straight away.
Rhona Baillie OBE, chief executive of the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice, said: “Thank you to the entire team at voco Grand Central and Kimpton Blythswood Square for their generous donation and support.
“The hives have already begun producing delicious honey that we’ve been serving to patients with their breakfast.
“The jars sold will help us continue to support families affected by a terminal diagnosis across the South of Glasgow and East Renfrewshire.”
The installation and care of the beehives have been overseen by Katie and Edward O’Brien of Ed’s Bees.
Katie said: “Bees are incredibly vital to our ecosystem – without them, the world as we know it would rapidly decline.
“Bees pollinate trees and wildflowers, which then supports other insects, birds, bats, and other mammals.
“They also pollinate food crops and feed livestock – saving farmers millions of pounds in manual labour.”
