In Nîmes, foraging bees and their hives coexist happily with businesses

Around fifteen beehives were installed under the impetus of the association of companies of the Actiparc of Grézan. Midi Libre – Axel Dumond

Bees forage near the Beaucaire road and the A9. Several companies in the Grézan industrial zone welcomed beehives this Wednesday, June 12. An environmental project launched by the Actiparc association.

From the scrublands of Cabrières to the industrial zone of Grézan. This Wednesday, June 12, Thierry Arnaez's bees are moving. The beekeeper puts on his jacket and installs one of his hives on the green corner of a company of the Actiparc Nîmes. & ;quot;Hives", more precisely. Over three days, he has "between 15 and 16" in the sector adjacent to the Beaucaire road, for eight companies.

Sustainable development

The bees will be hosted by the Stéarinerie et savonnerie de Nîmes (SSN), which manufactures cleaning chemicals. A polluting company that wants "to green [its] image", explains Grégory Vindry, purchasing manager at SSN.< /p>

The installation of this small hive, away from the warehouses, is linked to social and environmental responsibility. CSR designates actions, voluntary or mandatory, carried out by companies in favor of sustainable development.

Thierry Arnaez, beekeeper in Cabrières, will regularly come to examine his hives and harvest the honey. Free Midi – Axel Dumond

"A role in biodiversity"

The SSN plans to buy the honey produced by the hive to distribute it to employees and plans to have them "participate in activities", which Thierry suggests. The Gard beekeeper was contacted by Lien d’avenir, an association which sets up hive sponsorship conventions.

"I’would like us to be able to say that bees played a role in biodiversity". These pollinating insects gather in a "radius of 3 km".Thierry hopes "an impact on the agricultural development of the area". This is the first time that he has intervened in the sector, which concentrates around a hundred entrepreneurs.

Associative will

"We will produce Grézan honey." Jean-Antoine Bunoz is president of the& rsquo;association of companies from Actiparc de Grézan, which is leading the project to establish beehives.  The manager of the company Pertuis Froid, which adopted three colonies of bees, is "happy" to welcome these "little free workers".

He advocates "an incentivizing, festive and non-punitive ecology". As part of this approach, around ten microforests were planted in the industrial zone, financed by Nîmes Métropole.

These green actions also have a social aim, the other part of CSR."The&rsquo ;next year it will be for the staff", predicts the president of the association. Last May, at the request of his employees, Jean-Antoine opened a small vegetable garden in his company. "I&rsquo ;hopes to be the first of many."