BEEHIVE SCHEME AT EMIRA

Emira Property Fund has installed 16 beehives at eight of its properties in Gauteng and KZN, with more being planned. The beehive project was chosen to address the decline of global bee populations, which contribute to biodiversity. Bees are vital for pollinating plants and food crops, and one third of global food production depends on bees as pollinators. All life on earth relies on bees but they are increasingly threatened by human activity, habitat loss, pesticides, air pollution and climate change.

COO of Emira, Ulana van Biljon, says that their bee conservation project is a holistic approach to reducing the impact of environmental degradation, which goes beyond planting trees. The first hives were installed at Knightsbridge office park in Bryanston, and Hyde Park Lane, a corporate address in Sandton. These sites were chosen due to the biodiversity of the surrounding landscape and abundance of flowering plants which provide nectar flow for the bees to produce honey. The beehives are managed in a controlled environment and are clearly sign-posted.

Bees tend to collect nectar within three km of their hives: Johannesburg honey was crafted mainly from exotic ornamental plants such as jasmine, lavender, rosemary and jacaranda trees, whilst in Pretoria North (at Wonderpark Shopping Centre), there are more indigenous plants, acacias and grassland flowers, producing honey with darker herbal tannins.

As part of Emira’s dedication to good ESG (environmental, social and governance) practices, it has committed to a ‘no net future loss’ policy, conserving and promoting biodiversity across its portfolio, and reducing the company’s impact on the environment. Healthy ecosystems enhance natural resources, food security, livelihoods and habitats for plants and animals.

www.emira.co.za