Sustainable Business Profile — Chevra Honey

Chevra Honey’s main purpose is to encourage a change in the community with bee-friendly plantings and hive placements that will bring about a healthier and sustainable environment. They help residents with advice and direction when starting a new beehive, and their ‘farm gate shop’ in Caulfield North features an honour table stocked with honey and hive related products.  

“We want people to know that bees are essential to our environment and food chain.” 

Sustainability highlights

Chevra Honey works with the local community to encourage sustainable beekeeping and provides education around starting and maintaining beehives. They sell honey from their local beehives and have many sustainable practices in place. 

• From resident’s gardens to community areas, there are 30 beehives in Glen Eira. 
• Working with the Graceburn Bees Resident Project in Glen Eira to set up hives in the laneways.  

• Provide education around beehive management, basic beekeeping and the best bee-friendly plants to make your garden more environmentally diverse and attractive to bees.  
• Honey is locally produced, from the hives in Glen Eira and jarred at their workshop. All honey is locally produced, harvested and jarred. 
• The ‘farm gate shop’ sells local kosher honey and beekeeping products. They also have an observation hive and chickens — the community is free to come and visit and learn more about local beekeeping.  
• Natives are planted in their garden, and they encourage the community to plant along their nature strip to provide a corridor for the bees to the hives. This also encourages insects and birds, which are important for the environment. 
• Chevra Honey will go out to homes interested in starting a beehive and consider the suitability from all aspects — from the garden itself to neighbours, pets and kids as well.  
• Encouraging good hive management to minimise swarming.  
• Using recycled water.  

What advice would you give to businesses on becoming more sustainable?

“People have to reach out and care about our local environment. You can connect with people and make friends. It’s good for the urban environment, the community, and it is good personally.”  

Want to make your business more sustainable?

If you have any enquiries about making your business more sustainable email us at Sustainablebusiness@gleneira.vic.gov.au or read more about sustainable business.