Giant Completes 7-Acre Pollinator Field at Headquarters

In celebration of National Pollinator Week (June 22-28), The Giant Co. has announced the completion of a 7-acre pollinator-friendly solar field at its corporate headquarters at 1149 Harrisburg Pike in Carlisle, Pa., as well as a $50,000 donation to its new strategic partner, the Planet Bee Foundation.

Giant has also been selected as the first grocery retailer and first Pennsylvania participant to take part in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s InSPIRE study, in which scientists measure and track the performance of the pollinator-friendly ground cover for applications to future solar energy projects. The new solar array coupled with the one currently on the roof of Giant’s headquarters will reduce 4.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide in the environment and generate enough power for the entire building.

“Nearly one-third of our food supply depends on pollinators, making bees an essential part of our food supply chain and ecosystem,” Giant President Nicholas Bertram said in a release. “A pollinator field provides us with a unique opportunity to educate our team members, customers and the community about the crucial role bees play in getting food onto their family’s table. For The Giant Co., healing the planet starts at home, so creating a pollinator habitat at our headquarters is a natural first step as we work to address the declining bee population.”

Beekeepers across the U.S. lost an estimated 40.7% of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019, according to the latest annual nationwide survey conducted by the University of Maryland-led nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership.

The Planet Bee Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco that is focused on driving awareness for pollinators, constructed the beehives for the pollinator-friendly solar field and will tend to the health of the colonies as the bees provide their essential pollinator services to the local ecosystem. The organization is also helping Giant develop educational signs that will be installed along the on-campus walking path.

Native seed mixes provided by Ernst Conservation Seeds, Meadville, Pa., will create a habitat for pollinators, birds and other small wildlife while improving the quality of the soil beneath it, reducing runoff and creating an attractive backdrop to the site. The field includes more than 20 varieties of wildflowers native to the northeast and central Pennsylvania, including Butterfly Milkweed, Mountain Mint, Blue Mistflower and Golden Alexander.