17 Why was the Hemlock Building selected for the apiary?
A It has an ideal height for flight paths.
B It has a functional elevator.
C It has reinforced architecture.
18 What does the speaker say is the biggest threat to the bees in this area?
A Pollution from city traffic
B Sudden weather changes
C A lack of available flowers
19 What must all volunteers do immediately?
A Sign a legal waiver
B Wash their hands
C Put on protective gear
20 How will the project conclude its first season?
A By hosting a public tasting event
B By selling honey to local shops
C By throwing a celebration dinner
Keys
11 boots
12 Monday
13 queen
14 wind
15 fork
16 spelling
17 B
18 C
19 A
20 C
Transcript
Part 2: You will hear a project coordinator giving a briefing to volunteers about a new rooftop beekeeping project.
PROJECT COORDINATOR: Hi everyone, thanks for showing up. I’m glad to see so many of you interested in the urban apiary project here on the terrace of the Hemlock Building. Before we head upstairs, I want to run through the volunteer roles we need to fill and give you a bit of background.
So, looking at the main tasks, the first role is Hive Builder. You’ll be putting together the internal frames. It’s not heavy work, but you do need to protect your feet because you might drop tools, so sturdy boots are strictly required for this. Sneakers just won’t cut it.
Next up is the Feeder. During the early months, the colonies need extra food. You’ll be making up a simple sugar syrup. The bees go through this quickly, so this needs to be done every Monday without fail. I know some of you asked about doing it on weekends, but early week is best for our rotation.
Then we have the Inspectors. This is a delicate job. You’ll be opening the boxes to look at the overall health of the colony. Specifically, you’re looking for the queen to ensure she’s laying eggs properly. If she’s missing, we have a big problem.
We also need Plant Caretakers for the terrace flowers. Since it’s high up, the main thing to keep an eye on isn’t the sun, but rather the wind. It can get really blustery up there, which breaks the young stems, so you’ll need to adjust the protective netting accordingly.
When it comes to harvest time, we need Extraction Assistants. You won’t be using knives. Instead, you’ll uncap the honeycomb cells with a specialized fork. It’s a very satisfying job, actually.
Finally, the Packers. Once the honey is in jars, you’ll put on the branding. The main thing here is to double-check the spelling on our custom labels before you stick them on. A typo ruins the whole premium look we’re going for.
Okay, so why did we choose the Hemlock Building for this? Well, the height actually makes it tough for the bees, and we had to get a structural engineer to approve the weight. But the real deciding factor was that it has a working elevator, which is incredibly rare for these older industrial blocks. Carrying heavy equipment up stairs just wasn’t an option.
Now, keeping bees in a city has unique challenges. You’d think traffic fumes would be the worst thing, or maybe sudden weather changes. Actually, the biggest threat is simply a lack of flowers. The bees often struggle to find enough nectar sources nearby, so we have to monitor their food reserves very closely.
Before anyone is allowed upstairs today, there’s a bit of admin. We have plenty of protective gear, and we’ll show you the washing stations later. But right now, you must sign a waiver. It’s a standard legal document just acknowledging that there are live insects on site.
Looking ahead, if everything goes well this season, we won’t be supplying commercial stores right away, nor are we planning a big open day for the public. Instead, we’ll host a private celebration dinner just for you guys, the volunteers, to say thank you for the hard work.
