The top level of a multi-storey concrete car park in the middle of a city might seem an unlikely place to create a native bee sanctuary.
But not if you are Jacob Williams and Conor Teevan.
They saw the concrete slab in Wollongong’s CBD as the perfect site for an oasis of native plants that would attract small native bees and help them thrive.
A section of car spaces is now fenced off and houses three raised garden beds with fledgling native plants and two native beehives.
“We’re showcasing what you can do with any space,” Bee Team Wollongong member Mr Williams said.
“The urban environment shouldn’t restrict native vegetation, it should be integrated with it.
“If we can put it on a car park, you can put in in your front or backyard or on the public streets.”
The stingless native bees will forage on vegetation in plant beds around the city’s streets and gardens, as well as plants growing in the bee sanctuary.
Giving back to the community
Mr Williams and Mr Teevan established the bee sanctuary after receiving a $5,000 grant from an alcohol company.
It is a not-for-profit passion project that they see as a contribution to the city.
Mr Teevan works as a bar tender and has developed a love for native Australian flavours and the bees that help pollinate the plants that produce them.
“It will be a wonderful place to come and relax, learn a bit or just…