Honeybees and biotechnology: Efforts to spruce up the eastern side of South San Francisco’s 101 includes beekeeping volunteers

The gBees are a group of Genentech employees that participate in voluntary beekeeping on and around the South City campus, maintaining hives and “contributing to local conservation,” a company spokesperson said.

The group is one of a few larger conservation efforts in the area, a piece of land on the other side of the highway that abuts the Bay but is known mostly for large office and laboratory buildings.

“When you look at how the east 101 sector is transforming, you are seeing more greenery, you are seeing more of the business and business and developers thinking about how to incorporate greenery, flowers and trees on their campuses and in their park space,” Councilmember James Coleman said during a recent council meeting.

“So many of us walk the Bay Trail, and think of how many more flowers there could be if we had more pollinators in those areas.”

The honey produced from the bees is shared with patient speakers who share their treatment journeys with Genentech employees, a company spokesperson said.

The gBees’ efforts prompted the city to update its ordinance to allow beekeeping in commercial areas, not just residential zones.

While the efforts help pollinate flowers and add to surrounding nature in the area, including along the popular Bay Trail, it also comes with its own risks.

“Honeybees can pose some risk to natural habitat by increasing competition for food resources with native bee populations,” Associate Planner Cecilia Mariscal said. “The disruption of the native bee-to-native-plant connection could contribute to an ecosystem collapse.”

The city strengthened other provisions of the ordinance to require beekeepers to maintain on site a “natural food source like pollinator friendly flowers, trees, shrubs to prevent bees from swarming or seeking food sources in neighboring lots” to reduce competition.

Genentech also plans to expand its campus and decided to move the hives off-site to Orange Park, in collaboration with the city.

“Housing the hives there will not only keep the colony safe in a quieter environment but will also open up fantastic opportunities for a much stronger community and environmental partnership with the city,” a company spokesperson said.