TULSA, Okla. — Numerous studies have warned that honeybees, a critical part of the world's ecosystem, are in trouble. So, a major corporation in Tulsa decided to help and discovered some unexpected, sweet rewards.
Tucked in the corner of the company's four-story parking garage in downtown Tulsa, you will find bees—60-thousand of them living in a hive.
"They are as we affectionately call them our employ-bees!" said Jason Brown, Manager of Facilities at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma.
Brown said they started with two hives in 2023 to help America's bee population. The company even designed and installed a garden directly below the hives to provide a smorgasbord of pollen producing plants. From black-eyed susans to lavender, lantana and daisies, the plants are chosen to provide a food source from Spring to Fall.
Employees often see honeybees, butterflies and hummingbirds in the garden. As a result, the hives thrived. "They're producing more honey than we can possibly use," Brown said.
Such a harvest, employees make candles and lip balm from the wax, and jar the honey. They do not sell any of the products. Instead, BCBS shares them with employees and visitors.
"As we can give that out that kind of continues the conversation," Brown said. "It shows the importance of the pollinators in our world when it comes to food security and production and all of that good stuff." "And it's good health, right?" Karen Larsen asked. "Absolutely!" he added. "And that's the business we're in."
While the hives thrived, the corporate keepers later learned of new scientific evidence that found domestic hives were actually straining wild hives. So, they moved one out to a site in Rogers County and found yet another way to help. They built bee hotels in the garden which gives wild bees a place to rest when they have flown several miles from their own hive to find pollen.
Four stories up, Queen Kamama (named by employees) and her bees do their work, which is now part of some groundbreaking research.
"We partnered with a lab in France and they're testing the honey," said Christy Payne, beekeeper and Collinsville business owner. "And that's going to tell us the kinds of flowers they've been visiting and pollinating in the area and how it's going to change over the seasons."
Of course, no visit would be complete without a taste of honey poured over crackers.
"Karen - Ready? Honey cheers!" Honey cheers! Mmmmm-mmm!" agreed Larsen, Payne and Brown.
The honey, lip balm and candles provide sweet rewards that even sparked a bigger move toward sustainability at Blue Cross Blue Shield. A sustainability committee is focusing on more robust recycling, reducing the overall carbon footprint at the building, using all LED lights, and even buying renewable energy credits now for our building "all from the addition of the honeybees."
Payne suggested we each do our part to help preserve these important pollinators. She suggested reducing or simply stop using pesticides in our home gardens.
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