NEWS & STORIES
Show all
NEWS & STORIESNEWS & STORIES
Bee on flower

Freudenberg helps restore healthy honeybee populations

Buzzworthy Business

‹ Back to overview

Sustainability Company

Honeybees are the world’s number one pollinator, responsible for pollinating most of the top food crops around the globe. In the United States alone, the honeybee population has been decreasing at an alarming rate. This is why the Durham, NC, USA site of Freudenberg Performance Materials partnered with local business, Bee Downtown to help restore healthy honeybee populations.

In honor of World Bee Day, we spoke with Scottie McLeod, Regional Account Manager at Bee Downtown and a certified beekeeper about how Bee Downtown is working with companies like Freudenberg across the Southeast to help restore honeybee populations. 

Picture of Scottie McLeod

Scottie McLeod

Where did the inspiration come from to start Bee Downtown?

Bee Downtown started as a passion project when our Founder and CEO Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, a fourth-generation beekeeper, was in college and asked her landlord if she could keep honeybee hives at her apartment. When the answer was “no” she turned to American Tobacco Campus, also the location of the world headquarters of Burt’s Bees, where she was interning.  The three hives she placed on the roof of that building attracted local media, and other companies started asking about bringing bees to their campuses as well. She wanted to make a difference in the world, and the only way she knew how at the time was through agriculture and beekeeping! 

 
Beekeeper with bees

How did you get involved with bee keeping?

I actually had no prior beekeeping experience before I started interning for Bee Downtown back in 2017. But ever since I joined the team, I’ve been hooked. My beekeeping journey started first and foremost with a lot of education -- I read a lot of articles, subscribed to bee-themed newsletters, watched videos, asked questions and found mentors like Leigh-Kathryn, CEO and Ben, our Lead Beekeeper at Bee Downtown. I started shadowing Ben as he checked partner hives. Then, when I finally felt ready enough, I took the North Carolina State Beekeeping exam-- which consisted of a written and practical exam. Luckily, I passed both, so now I’m a Certified Beekeeper!

 
Beehives

What is the importance of honeybees to our ecosystem?

Every 3rd bite of food you eat is thanks to a honeybee! They pollinate 70 out of the top 100 food crops in the United States, so without them, we would have a lot less food and several crops simply would not exist. They’re also an indicator species, which means by looking at their health and the problems they face, we can learn a great deal about our overall environment and what’s happening beyond the surface.

Freudenberg Hives at a Glance

Figures at a glance

From your point of view, what is the biggest lesson we can learn from the bees? 

Teamwork. By herself, one honeybee creates 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her entire life. She actually never even lives long enough to see the fruits of her labor. However, a colony working together can create over 80 pounds of honey in a matter of months! Everything a worker bee does is for the good of the hive. In moments of turmoil, they move towards the stressor instead of away from it. For example, during a swarm, the bees that are physically holding onto the tree branch or car door are under immense pressure. The other bees around them can sense this, so they move towards them to go and help!

What is your favorite fun bee fact?

My favorite bee fact has to do with the queen bee. There can only be one in a colony, so if for some reason she dies or gets sick, the colony senses this and immediately gets to work “rearing” a new queen. To give themselves the best chance of survival, they make 10-15 new queen cells. Whichever queen emerges from her cell first will find and sting all of the other cells! If for some reason two queens emerge at the same time, they will actually fight to the death until there is one victor.  

Hive with bees

What actions can we take at home to help protect honeybees? 

Great question! Creating habitats and planting gardens is always an awesome place to start. Part of the reason that all pollinators are struggling right now is they’re facing habitat loss. If you think about it, a perfectly manicured and treated lawn is a desert to all insects! If you’re able to leave patches wild or plant pollinator friendly plants, that is a huge help. In the fall, try not to blow all of your leaves away. Try to leave branches and leaves in the corner of your backyard! 
Another fun lawn accessory to look into is a pollinator hotel. It looks like a bird house, except it’s for carpenter bees, bumble bees, beetles, sweat bees and more! Providing this intentional space for them to live can also help them avoid building holes in your deck. Lastly, buy local honey from your grocery store or from a farmer’s market. Not only are you supporting your local farmers by doing this, you’re also supporting your local community and environment!

An enduring partnership

Freudenberg Performance Materials first partnered with Bee Downtown in 2017 with the installation of two honeybee hives placed at the Durham site. Over the course of the two years, the bees thrived on the plants and trees around the campus.

In April 2020, a third hive was added bringing 60,000 more busy bees to the area and an estimated 180,000 bees in total! The bees on campus positively impact 18,000 acres in the community and pollinate parts of major areas including the Eno River State Park, Falls Lake and Downtown Durham. 

 

Further related articles

Questions to this site?

Get more insights

The Sites of Freudenberg Performance Materials