Opening of University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre

Last week, the University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre held its official opening!

After recognizing the support of donors and partners, and a ribbon cutting ceremony, guests toured the beautiful facility to learn about the activities that will be conducted at the centre. To celebrate MTA's contributions to the project, Diarmuid Nash, Olivia Keung, Corey Brown, and Maria Pavlou attended the opening event.

The new building is located in a remote area just outside of campus, next to the beautiful Guelph Arboretum. Through this state-of-the-art research centre with labs, honey processing facilities, and outdoor beehives, the study of pollinator health will continue to advance.

At the front of the building, a gift shop greets visitors with a variety of honey products sourced from the bee apiaries on site. The design encourages guests to flow seamlessly from indoor to outdoor spaces, whether they're staff moving between research spaces, or students travelling from the Discovery Centre in the atrium to the terrace.

This project is exemplifies MTA's work with regenerative landscape design, in which we considered the site's history, topography, and surroundings. Because of the land's previous use as a tree nursery, we promoted healing through the preservation of existing trees and the minimization of development impact. Acknowledging that a building can influence the ecology around the site, we analyzed the surrounding wetlands and woodlands while accounting for future climate scenarios to determine the configuration of the building.

To learn more about the education and research at the University of Guelph, visit the Honey Bee Research Centre site.