MUSIC CITY CENTER INSTALLS BEE HIVES ON GREEN ROOF

MUSIC CITY CENTER INSTALLS BEE HIVES ON GREEN ROOF
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The four-acre green roof at the Music City Center is now home to over 100,000 bees.

The bees live in four hives on the green roof and are expected to produce an estimated 360 pounds of honey annually. Half of this honey will be used by the Music City Center culinary team, while the rest will be jarred for promotional use. The first harvest is expected to be ready in spring of 2016.

"We've made it a top priority to use local products in the kitchen and this is as local as it gets," said Chef Max Knoepfel, Executive Chef of the Music City Center. "We can literally walk out the back door and get honey for anything we need. The bees should produce more than enough needed for the kitchen and we can give what's leftover to clients and visitors."

Aside from being a source of food, the bees are essential to a sustainable environment and there has been a decline in honeybee populations in the last few years. Last month, the Obama administration released its National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators.

"Honey bees play a key role in our ecosystem and the widespread use of insecticides is killing off the honey bees at an alarming rate," said Jamie Meredith, the Music City Center's beekeeper. "Bees fertilize about 85 percent of plants, so it's incredibly important that we create a safe home for them."

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About the Music City Center

The Music City Center, Nashville’s convention center, features a 353,143 square foot exhibit hall, the 57,500 square foot Karl F. Dean Grand Ballroom, and an 18,000 square foot Davidson Ballroom. The building includes an art collection featuring local and regional artists, a covered three-level parking garage with 1,800 spaces, and is LEED Gold certified. The Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame is also located inside the Music City Center at the corner of 6^th Avenue and Demonbreun.