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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — In the heart of Boston lies 1.5 miles of green space with grass, gardens, and art. The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy has spent the last decade cultivating parks were a highway once stood.
“The Greenway Conservancy has a real dedication to organic maintenance and horticulture here out in the park. So, everything you see is organically maintained,” the Greenway’s community affairs manager Rachel Lake said.
Now, bees are buzzing in the park.
In 2016, the Greenway Conservancy added their Pollinator Ribbon, a plan that intended to incorporate more pollinating insects that allow plants to reproduce and spread in the area.
According to the Greenway Conservancy’s website, “all seed propagated plants depend on pollinating insects or other small animals to fertilize their flowers and allow seeds and fruits to form and spread. This is how plants reproduce, and how we get the fruits, berries, and vegetables we love to eat.”
As part of their 10-year anniversary, the Greenway Conservancy has added three beehives to their park in the North End.
“It’s going to be a great part of helping to keep our park pollinated, happy, and healthy,” Lake said.
The beehives are occupied by Italian honeybees, a species of bee that Lake said are “docile and great honey producers.”
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, bees help with crop production, and that “one of every four bites of food people take is courtesy of bee pollination.”
However, some species of the pollinator have seen declining populations. In 2017, the rusty patched bumblebee — which was once abundantly seen in many states, including Massachusetts — became the first bee species to be officially listed as endangered by the United States.
“I think especially as everyone is becoming much more aware and much more concerned about really the state of how much work bees do for everything. I mean, we are really happy to do our part here,” Lake said.
According to the Greenway Conservancy’s website, the honeybees newly added to the park will help “to pollinate flowers and edible plants up to three miles away.”
The beehives are just one way the Greenway Conservancy is celebrating their tenth anniversary.
“I think it’s really a great moment to look back and reflect on what this space used to be and what this space used to mean for Boston, and really how much it has transformed from that kind of horrible traffic, headache inducing highway into a really, really incredible and beautiful public park in Boston,” Lake said.
In addition to the beehives, Lake said that there is a soon-to-be announced project involving the park’s fountains.
Over the course of the summer in Boston, the Greenway Conservancy will also be hosting several free events for the public.
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WBZ NewsRadio’s Chris Fama (@CFamaWBZ) reports