As planes take off overhead, bees swarm around their hives closer to the ground.

“They’re a little active, because it’s just a nice warm afternoon," said Adam Dietry, assistant manager of environmental services at Akron-Canton Airport, as he walked toward wooden boxes of beehives on a small plot of airport land. "But they’re doing their own thing so they’re very docile.”

The airport covers more than 2,700 acres, according to officials. Much of it is natural space in and around the terminal and runways. The airport recently renewed a contract with local farmers as part of a bigger strategy to maintain and manage its natural resources.

It was Dietry’s idea to bring bees to the airfield two years ago . The airport is home to 96 hives that Dietry and the environmental services team mana

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