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Bees of Fairmont Royal
Bees are not the only ones who love the clean fresh air and vivacity of Toronto, Canada
By: Mary Gostelow
Melanie Coates, on the right of the photo, is chief beekeeper at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto. How did this all come about? Well, back in 2006 beekeepers worldwide began reporting losing 30-90% of their hives to Colony Collapse Disorder.
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Colony collapse disorder (CCD), which can also be called honey bee depopulation syndrome. What this means, simply put, is that worker bees suddenly disappear. This can be because of such biotic factors as
Varroa mites and insect diseases and/or environmental change-related stresses, pesticides or possibly even cell phone radiation and genetically modified crops with pest control characteristics, The Colony Collapse Disorder Working Group at Penn State University has not been able to drawn any strong conclusions. Most hobby beekeepers believe that starvation is the leading cause of death in their colonies, while commercial beekeepers overwhelmingly believe that invertebrate pests (Varroa mites, honey bee tracheal mites, and/or small hive beetles) are the leading cause of colony mortality. Frankly, no-one can say for sure.
Meanwhile, as Fox News reported June 2009, food prices could rise unless this mysterious decline in honey bees is solved."No bees, no crops," North Carolina grower Robert D. Edwards told a US House Agriculture subcommittee. Edwards said he had to cut his cucumber acreage in half because of the lack of bees available to rent.
About three-quarters of flowering plants rely on birds, bees and other pollinators to help them reproduce. Bee pollination is responsible for $15 billion annually in crop value in the USA alone.
Philanthropists and do-gooders have been rushing to protect the bees. In London, Ontario, the appropriately-named Robin Honey, CEO of Honey Design Marketing and Communications, organized Bee-Cause, a one-night art auction that raised over C$12,000 for the Canadian Bee Research Fund, www.honeycouncil.ca.
The historic Fairmont Royal York, one of Toronto’s best hotels, has given bed – or rather roof – space to hundreds of thousands of honey bees. Six queens and their accompanying entourages are now in residence atop of the hotel’s 14th floor roof. The first three queens checked into their apiary – the Honey Moon Suite, the Royal Sweet and the V.I.Bee Suite – on June 4th, 2008. The next three checked into the Bee+Bee Suite, the Stayin-a-Hive Suite and the Comb Suite in July, 2009.
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The Fairmont Royal York’s Executive Chef, David Garcelon views the six hives as a natural extension of the decade-old and flourishing “Their very existence is sure to improve the city’s biodiversity and contribute to the pollination of thousands of plants,” confirms Cathy Kozma, Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative. “The more bees forage, the more pollination occurs. This will improve the downtown’s entire ecosystem and strengthen the rooftop garden by encouraging more flowers, healthier plants and bigger fruit.”
At Fairmont Royal York, my favorite room is corner suite 12-129, with views west along Front Street to the CN Tower, and south over Union Station to Toronto Harbour and Olympic Island. It has a real homey feel, and I am told that one person in fact did feel so at home that he stayed here for months. The salon’s walls are panelled right to the ceiling, and there is a diagonally-set medieval-style fireplace, with carved mantel and elaborate crest above, across one corner. The drapes here are also historical, with big flounces, an there is seemingly-ancient Chinese porcelain in a glass-front inner-lit display cabinet. You have a half-bathroom for visiting guests, and if you find the main bathroom a bit small you could do as I did, namely shower in the well-appointed locker room that is shared by the gym (Technogym equipment) and pool, both of which are open from six o’clock each morning. You also, like all Fairmont Gold rooms, have access to the Fairmont Gold Lounge, on the 12th floor. This has great all-day, all-evening service and its head concierge, Robin Sheikh, is really helpful. If you find the idea of staying in a hotel that has 1,348 rooms and suites a bit daunting, do not worry. Signage is good, and if you arrange to meet a friend or colleague, the best meeting place is by the big four-way standing clock in the main, first floor, lobby: if you get there first, gaze in awe at its high wood ceiling, dating back to the hotel’s 1929 beginnings, when it included a 12-bed working hospital.
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