Martjie Cloete, Growthpoint Properties sustainability manager – projects
The World Bee Day 2025 theme “Bee inspired by nature to nourish us all”, highlights the critical roles bees and pollinators play in agrifood systems and the health of our country’s, and our planet’s ecosystems. The Woodland’s bees exemplify this sentiment.
Set in a 43-hectare game park, The Woodlands is already known for its remarkable blend of nature and business. With tranquil waterscapes, rich birdlife, and freely roaming buck and other small animals, it offers an unmatched environment for both productivity and peaceful retreat. With its resident bee colonies, it’s also playing a small but meaningful role in supporting South Africa’s embattled pollinator population.
Honeybee hives at Growthpoint Properties’ The Woodlands Office Park
Pollinators in peril
South Africa is facing a serious shortage of bees, beekeepers, and secure forage sites—conditions that are critical for agricultural pollination. The eight hives at The Woodlands represent a fraction of what’s needed nationally, but they matter because they form part of a larger ecosystem of conservation-aware stewardship.
Bees pollinate roughly 70% to 80% of the foods we eat. Of the 1,258 known species in South Africa, only two can be domesticated in hives (but not in the same regions) and they are stretched thin.
How do these office-park bees support agrifood systems?
The Woodlands colonies are among the 700 that seasonally support macadamia orchards in Barberton, where their pollination boosts crop yields by as much as 70%.
To pollinate South Africa’s 78,000 hectares of macadamia trees, an estimated 312,000 colonies are needed. Yet the total number of managed colonies nationwide barely exceeds that. Add apples, avocados, butternuts and berries to the mix, and the deficit becomes even more alarming.
During off-season periods when farms must be treated with pesticides, these bees require safe, forage-rich refuges. The Woodlands, with its flourishing stands of acacia, paperbark, fever trees, soetdoring and select non-invasive eucalyptus species, offers exactly that.
Why bees belong
By maintaining safe, pesticide-free apiaries like those at The Woodlands, Growthpoint contributes to pollinator conservation and, by extension, national food security or, as this year’s World Bee Day theme highlights, nourishing us all.
As a bonus, each hive, which has one queen bee fiercely protected by her colony, produces up to 30 kilograms of honey annually under ideal conditions, though recent erratic weather patterns have dampened yields across the country, from Gauteng to Limpopo.
“This initiative reflects the value of adaptive, site-specific stewardship. The hives benefit from an abundant local food source, contributing to a healthy and balanced ecosystem within the park,” says Martjie Cloete, Growthpoint Properties sustainability manager – projects.
She adds, “Every small act counts in safeguarding our pollinators. The Woodlands bee project is a reminder that even in urban settings, nature can thrive when given the chance and when our environment is treated as a vital part of our future.”
