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There is a good chance you live in a city — or will soon. According to estimates by the United Nations, two out of every three people will live in an urban area by 2050.

The environmental impact of such rapid urbanization is a global concern. Traditional methods of monitoring pollution such as soil and air sampling can be expensive and time-consuming.

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We need new tools to track heavy metals and other pollution. So, we came up with a novel approach: honey.

It all began with a question. Julia Common, the chief beekeeper at Hives for Humanity, a Vancouver-based, non-profit organization of urban beekeepers, was asked repeatedly, “How clean is the honey from downtown Vancouver?”

Hives for Humanity manages about 200 hives within the city. They are on rooftops in the bustling city centre, near city gardens, in residential backyards and on farms in Delta, one of B.C.’s major agricultural hubs. The organization doesn’t only produce honey, they also manage several therapeutic beekeeping programs.