14 DAY TRIAL // Google isn't afraid to take on new challenges. While the web is its main focus, Google has interests in anything from space flights to green energy. Even so, beekeeping is probably one of the last things that comes to mind when you think about Google.
And yet, it is one of the activities Google is involved in. With the summer ending, it was time collect the honey for which the bees toiled for the past months.
"Today, we have more than 80 employees signed up to care for the bees. We’re happy to report that the bees have prospered at Google (must be all the free food) and the hives have grown from their original one-story 'campus,' the Hiveplex, to five stories," Rob Peterson, Manager of Software Engineering at Google, wrote.
"Over the past few weeks, there’s been a ton of anticipation on campus as the hives filled with honey and harvest time drew closer. Each beekeeping team is assigned to one of the four colored hives, and some teams were spotted peeking into other hives to see which was ahead in terms of honey production," he added.
Google got into beekeeping earlier this year. With thousands of employees at the Googleplex, Google HQ, and the famous employee perks that the company provides, including gourmet meals, honey is in demand at the company.
Google is trying to be as green as possible and this also means relying on local supplies. But even better than buying locally is growing your own, which is why the company installed four beehives on campus, calling them the Hiveplex.
The idea was to make all the honey the chefs needed and also set an example of green living. As you can imagine, quite a few Googlers got involved. In the end, they collected about 405lbs of honey. Those involved got to take a jar home, while the rest will be used for Google's needs.