Making a real difference to Ireland’s declining bee population
Bees On The Roof was established in 2019 by Emma Finn, a professional beekeeper with a passion for nature, biodiversity and making a real difference to Ireland’s declining bee population.
Inspired by rooftop urban beekeeping initiatives in some of the world’s most iconic buildings including New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and London’s Tate Modern, Bees On The Roof offers Dublin’s first official Corporate beekeeping program that provides valuable Profiling and Corporate Social Responsibility opportunities for organisations, including educational and wellness benefits to staff.
Emma started her career in the corporate world by completing a degree in Trinity College, followed by 12 years in the world of International Banking in London and Dublin, before then running her own business for the next 10 years.
Emma became increasingly aware of the challenges facing the protection of the fragile planet on which we all depend and decided that a career change which would allow her to contribute to this vital goal was the way forward.
She is working on her beemasters for the last few years, is involved with education for schools nationally and helps to run her local bee association.
Heading back to Trinity, she undertook a post grad programme in Tangent, Trinity’s Idea workshop to investigate a way to use her knowledge of bees and passion for the environment to set up her own business.
The outcome of this was Bees on the Roof.
About Emma Finn – Founder, Bees On The Roof
Emma is a qualified beekeeper with more than ten years’ experience caring for bee colonies and supporting their production of honey and beeswax. She is inspired by a deep love for nature and the serenity of working with bees, where working on “bee time” reinforces the need for being present in an often busy, deadline driven world.
Emma established Bees On The Roof after her local beekeeper’s association received a request for the installation and maintenance of a rooftop hive at a Dublin-city office building. As the first corporate beekeeping program of its type in Ireland, Emma is delighted to be at the forefront of an important Corporate Social Responsibility initiative that plays a meaningful role in promoting biodiversity and pollination.
Emma is a natural educator and loves to share insight and knowledge about bees and their importance to our ecosystem. She regularly runs educational workshops and beehive demonstrations in schools and has featured on RTE Junior Radio to share fun facts about bees and their role in nature. She has also spoken on talk-back radio to provide advice about the types of plant species that will attract bees to a garden and has been published in An Beachaire, The Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations’ official magazine.
Emma is a member of The Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations and is currently undertaking a study program for the esteemed Master Beekeeper qualification. She has also completed a program in Creativity in Entrepreneurship at Trinity College Dublin, and is on the committee of the Fingal Beekeepers Association, lending her experience to the roles of Education and Secretary.
Emma is not only known for her beekeeping prowess and educational flair, but for her delicious natural honey, which was previously awarded second place at the Phoenix Park Honey Show in Dublin.