Local palliative care centre launches apiary and bee yard

Honey produced at a new bee yard at Innisfree House in Kitchener will be used in the kitchens of the Region of Waterloo hospice, including Lisaard House on Speedsville Road in Cambridge.

Lisaard and Innisfree Hospice has partnered with beekeeping experts at Alvéole to create a "beautiful naturalized area surrounding our property," says a press release about the new venture for the palliative care centres.

"We look forward to the thousands of tiny new colleagues that will be pollinating the gardens and marshland surrounding our hospice."

The partnership recognizes that bees play a crucial role as pollinators, and hosting these hives "is an investment in our environment."

"We are repurposing some unused space on our property, and at the end of the season, we’ll have honey for guests and for use in our kitchens that was produced right in our own back yard!"

By fostering bees, the hospice says it's playing an important role with our local bee community in the region – the hives at Innisfree House will host
colonies of bees that require safe temporary housing before finding their permanent home.

For example, if a local beekeeper determines their hives need splitting to regulate some of the busier bees, part of that colony will quickly and expertly be delivered to Innisfree House. With the support of skilled beekeepers maintaining their stay and ensuring they have enough forage, the bees will be in their care until the next leg of their journey.

“We are privileged to care for residents and families in our hospice at a vulnerable time in their lives, and this work is reflected in a poignant way in the special space we’re creating for local bees on our property,” said Andrea Binkle, executive director, Lisaard & Innisfree Hospice in the release.

“We are excited to partner with Innisfree on this project, and we’re pleased to cover the costs to install and care for these hives,” added Naomi Alon, beekeeping team coordinator at Alvéole. 

“Urban beekeeping highlights how important bees are in food production, and we look forward to the educational opportunities this partnership will offer the region as well.”