Posted 3 September, 2026

More than 250,000 European honey bees have taken up residence on top of Adelaide Convention Centre with the launch of the Riverbank Hive – a rooftop apiary supporting urban biodiversity while producing honey for the Centre’s award-winning menus.

Located on the roof of Adelaide Convention Centre’s Central Building, the Riverbank Hive comprises six beehives, creating a sanctuary for one of nature’s most important pollinators, while helping raise awareness of the essential role bees play in food security.

Sarah Goldfinch, General Manager – Adelaide Convention Centre, describes the Riverbank Hive as the Centre’s sweetest sustainability story and a powerful example of sustainability in action.

“The Riverbank Hive is a living example of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and finding new ways to create positive impact beyond our walls,” says Goldfinch.

“Bees play a vital role in pollinating many of the foods we eat, making them essential to healthy ecosystems and future food security.”

“Through the Riverbank Hive, we’re helping raise awareness of their importance, while demonstrating how nature can thrive in the heart of the city, supporting biodiversity and strengthening our connection to the environment around us.”

The Riverbank Hive adds a new chapter to Adelaide Convention Centre’s award-winning Honest Goodness philosophy, bringing a unique hive-to-table flavour to the Centre’s menus.
Gavin Robertson, Executive Chef, Adelaide Convention Centre adds, “As more venues and restaurants embrace hyper-local produce, the Riverbank Hive takes that concept to new heights, producing honey just metres from our kitchen.”

“There’s growing interest in ingredients with a genuine connection to place – it doesn’t get much closer than honey from our own rooftop. We expect each hive will produce roughly 50-60 kilograms of honey each year, adding a truly unique local ingredient to the stories we tell through our menus.”

Riverbank Hive honey will feature across all areas of the Centre’s menu, from pastries and canapés to main courses and desserts. Among featured dishes incorporating Riverbank Hive honey:

• Grilled haloumi, spicy Riverbank Hive honey, pomegranate glazed pumpkin, vine roasted tomato, pepita dukkah, toasted Turkish bread;
• Soy & Riverbank Hive honey-glazed chicken thigh, broccoli, capsicum, carrot, spring onion, Hokkien noodles;
• Goat curd tartlet, Riverbank Hive truffle honey;
• Riverbank Hive honey-glazed butternut pumpkin, ancient grains, cranberries, glazed seeds, goat curd; and,
• Riverbank Hive honey-layered cake, sour cream mousse, apricot gel, brown sugar crumb, honeycomb.

The Riverbank Hive initiative was developed by the Adelaide Convention Centre team in partnership with award-winning South Australian beekeeper Jake Leske. The six hives are cared for by the Centre’s trained in-house apiarists, Callan Berry and Melinda Fleetwood. Longstanding members of Adelaide Convention Centre’s culinary team, Callan and Melinda
bring eight years of personal beekeeping experience, and will will oversee hive health, colony management, swarm and Varroa mite prevention, along with honey harvesting.

Beyond its support of urban biodiversity, the Riverbank Hive celebrates Adelaide’s unique identity as a ‘city in a park’. Each hive is named after one of the city’s most recognisable green spaces, creating a meaningful connection between the bees, their urban home and the landscape around them. Represented across the six hives are Adelaide’s Linear Park, Botanic Park, Elder Park, Bonython Park, Pinky Flat and Red Gum Park.

Adelaide Convention Centre is a global leader in sustainability. In 2023, it became the world’s first convention centre to achieve EarthCheck’s coveted Master certification, recognising 15 years of sustainability leadership. With 17 consecutive years of certification and counting, the Centre continues to drive best practice in environmental, business and social sustainability.

For more information on the Riverbank Hive and Adelaide Convention Centre’s sustainability initiatives, visit adelaidecc.com.au/sustainability.

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For all media enquiries, please contact Amy Christie, Communications Manager on 0438 503 469.