This Rooftop Beekeeper Helps the Mandarin Oriental in Paris Stay Eco-Friendly
Photo Caption: Audric de Campeau takes care of bee hives on the rooftops of about 300 buildings in Versailles and Paris. The beekeeper tends to two hives on the rooftop of the Mandarin Oriental, Paris. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
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The Mandarin Oriental, Paris, has some very special guests on its rooftop: bees. Someone has to take care of them. Enter this marketing man turned beekeeper who has no fear of heights — or bee stings.
Audric de Campeau studied medieval philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris. He followed that with two years in business school.
His career path diverged wildly from there. The 36-year-old Parisian worked in marketing and public relations for a luxury watch company. But after spending time at his parents’ home in Champagne, about an hour from Paris by train, he grew to love the outdoors. It was there that he started growing vegetables, planted an arboretum, and made wine.
Surrounded by all that nature, he came up with another idea that he believed would help the environment even more — to tend to beehives. Bees, after all, pollinate all types of crops around the world.
“Bees are the live symbol of biodiversity,” he said. “Urban (areas) are in need of nature.”
Urban beekeeping has become popular in the United States and worldwide as more people realize its environmental benefits. Many hotels have beehives on their roofto
