Sustainability

At Cross County Center we understand the importance of environmental and social practices when it comes to our business and role in the community.

Our goal is to strike a balance between implementing environmentally friendly operations and creating value for our retailers and other partners.

Here are some of the current components of our operating plan:

• • Energy Management and Operational Efficiencies
• • Sustainable Developments and Redevelopments
• • Recycling and Solid Waste Management
• • Use of “green” cleaning products when and where possible
• • Security patrols with the use of a Segway, which is battery powered versus gas powered and additional bicycle patrols, weather permitting

CROSS COUNTY CENTER HONEYBEES

Cross County Center is partnering with Best Bees, a Boston-based company, whose mission is to expand the bee population while improving the health of bees nationwide.

Beekeeping is an essential part of our agricultural system:

1.Bees pollinate food crops (nuts, apples and other fruits and vegetables)

2.Bees pollinate plants

3.Bees make honey, which has immense health benefits

Established in 2010, Best Bees installs and maintains honeybee hives on commercial and residential properties in urban centers and suburbs across the US. Best Bees has also become a Certified LGBTBE® company, which means that they are majority-owned by LGBTQ individuals and strive to empower other members of the LGBTQIA+ community to achieve their dreams, professionally and personally.

Two honeybee hives are located in landscaped bed at Cross County Center and will be maintained with beekeeping services from Best Bees.

Research data such as population, queen health, honey sums, and disease and mite levels from the Cross County Center Beehives will be shared with such organizations as Google Earth, NASA, MIT, National Geographic, Harvard University and more. Collectively, the research is used to understand trends, analyze what’s working and what isn’t, and create a barometer of environmental stability.

Throughout the year, our guests can participate in activities and events centered around this environmentally friendly program.

Take a look at our Applebee’s Cocktail Contest Winning Drink, September 2022 – NATIONAL HONEY MONTH.

BEE YOU! Bee sure to follow us on social media for buzz-worthy facts plus retail stores and eateries that feature sustainable products and programs. For example, H&M and Ulta Beauty.

12 FUN FACTS ABOUT BEES & BEEKEEPING:

• 1. There are just three types of honey bees: queens, workers and drones
• 2. Bees have existed for more than 100 million years.
• 3. The name ‘Melissa’ is derived from the Greek word for honey bee.
• 4. Bees have 2 stomachs – one for eating, and one for storing nectar and processing it into honey.
• 5. On a single foraging trip, a worker bee will visit between 50 and 100 flowers.
• 6. A single bee can carry up to 35% of their body weight in pollen.
• 7. bees sleep between five to eight hours, but these are broken up into as many as 40 to 50 naps per day
• 8. When out foraging, worker bees can fly up to 20 miles per hour. To achieve this, they beat their wings 200 times a second. This is what creates the iconic bee “bzzz” sound.
• 9. During a typical day foraging, worker bees will make 30 trips, usually within a two-mile radius of her hive, but may fly as far as 5-6 miles when food is scarce
• 10. Honey is 25% sweeter than sugar
• 11. More than 100,000 people keep bees in the U.S., and among these an estimated 18,100 are professional beekeepers, who earn all or part of their income from beekeeping
• 12. Popular celebrities keep bees, Westchester resident Martha Stewart, Michelle Obama, Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Fonda, Morgan Freeman, Scarlett Johansson, and Robert Redford

For more interesting buzz on bees, click HERE or visit www.bestbees.com.