etco Homes Launches BeeHome Urban Beekeeping Partnership, Housing Thousands of Bees at Rooftop Apiaries

etco Homes, a privately-owned, Los Angeles-based homebuilding company, today announced its new sustainable beekeeping program, BeeHome. Launched in partnership with urban beekeeping company Alvéole, and urban gardener Amanda Haas, BeeHome will house thousands of bees on the rooftop terraces of designer model homes at The Addison and The Ainsley, two of a trio of communities in etco Homes’ The Melrose Collection. To celebrate the installation of the new hives, etco Homes will host a rooftop BeeHome interactive workshop at The Addison on July 22, open to the public.

“As our buyers seek to have unique amenities in the heart of the Melrose District, our BeeHome initiative in partnership with Alvéole and Amanda Haas will introduce an unparalleled amenity offering for eco-conscious luxury living in Los Angeles,” said Bree Long, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at etco Homes. “Our buyers are inherently socially and environmentally conscious and our team at etco Homes feels passionate about promoting biodiversity within our communities and contributing to a more sustainable approach to urban living in Los Angeles, while educating and connecting our residents with the environment.”

The benefits of BeeHome’s urban beekeeping program include an opportunity to educate city dwellers to the crucial role of bees in food production and the sustainable preservation of large populations of bees, butterflies, bumblebees, and other pollinators that are in rapid decline all over the world. Bees pollinate more than 130 varieties of fruits and vegetables around the globe, representing a third of our food supply.

On Thursday, July 22 at 2:00PM, etco Homes’ BeeHome will be hosting a “Hive to Honey” workshop with Mia Frances LaRocca, Urban Beekeeper from Alvéole, where guests can participate in an artisanal honey extraction. A beekeeper will assist guests over the course of the fun-filled hour as guests learn to uncap honeycomb cells, hand-spin honeycombs in the centrifugal extractor, and filter the raw honey bottling into their own honey jar and labeling it. Additionally, at 3:00PM etco Homes’ urban gardener Amanda Haas will be leading a “DIY Urban Garden” workshop on how to build your own rooftop garden with edibles and eco-friendly plants. Guests can learn what plants grow best according to different areas of Los Angeles and how to successfully grow edibles that they can use for pizza toppings to salads and more. To register for either or both events, guests can reserve a spot here.

“This summer, the bees from The Addison and The Ainsley rooftop apiaries will begin to pollinate the urban flora that surrounds Melrose Avenue by gathering nectar and pollen from flowers within a three-mile radius of the hives and bringing it back to ensure the colony’s development,” said Mia Frances LaRocca, Urban Beekeeper at Alvéole. “At the end of the season, our beekeepers will harvest the bees honey and share it with the residents of The Addison and The Ainsley and local community members.”