A winning design has been selected for Hillsborough’s first “bee hotel”.

The project, which seeks to create a home for bees in Hillsborough’s Gold Park, is the product of a partnership between the Hillsborough Tree Board, the Hillsborough Tourism Development Authority, and Orange County Arts Commission.

The large and easily visible “bee hotel” will also serve as public art. The winning design was submitted by Chapel Hill landscape designer and builder David Hinkle.

In 2016, Hillsborough became the 35th city in the country to be named a “Bee City USA”. The title comes with a commitment to building healthy and thriving habitats for bees and raising awareness of the benefits of bee populations. There are nearly 500 species of bees native to North Carolina.

The project, which will be completed in October, will coincide with bee-hotel building workshops in hopes to encourage citizens to build their own smaller bee hotels around town.

More information on the project can be found here.