Nashville Music City Center has 100,000 bees on its roof

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Nashville's Music City Center now is home to 100,000 bees as part of the venue's sustainability initiative.

The convention center announced Monday it has added four hives of European honeybees to the green roof.

Officials expect the bees will produce 360 pounds of honey annually beginning in spring 2016. Half the honey will be used by Center's culinary team. The other half will be bottled and given to clients for promotional use.

Officials say the honeybees will fly up to a mile away to gather pollen. This means much of Nashville can benefit from the help of the bees, which fertilize about 85 percent of plants.

The honeybee population has been in decline recently. Urban beekeeping may help sustain bee populations across the country.