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Meet the Team!
Meet the Team!
Sydney Snow
Sydney Snow
Sydney is a 4th year Environmental Sustainability Studies major with a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Marie Pozy
Marie Pozy
Marie is a 4th year double majoring in Environmental & Sustainability Studies and Geography with a Geospatial Technology Emphasis
Paige Chism
Paige Chism
Paige is a 4th year majoring in Environmental and Sustainability Studies while also working towards a certificate in Sustainable Food Systems
Kate Poynter
Kate Poynter
Kate is a 4th year Majoring in Geography and Sustainable Planning, Minoring in Environmental Sustainable Sciences, and working towards certificates in Geographic Information Systems, Environmental Remote Sensing, and Sustainable Urban and Regional Planning
Background:
Background:
We centered our project and research around three different themes:
Importance of Pollinators:
Bees ensure that plants receive pollination
Pollination is a symbiotic relationship that helps the bees and the plants
Without pollination, we wouldn't have food!
Pollinator Plants:
It's important to have a variety of flowering plants available to the bees throughout all seasons (besides winter) so that they may have sufficient access to important nutrients.
By observing what is planted at the Grand Valley State University's Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP), people can find pollinator plants that they may incorporate into their own spaces in order to help pollinators.
Pollinator plants keep our bees alive and healthy, which makes sure we continue to have access to plenty of delicious foods
Environmental Impacts:
Biodiversity is important for pollinator health
By increasing biodiversity, pollinators will be less susceptible to diseases
Our Mission:
Our Mission:
Hands-on experience at the Sustainable Agriculture Project’s (SAP) apiary and research about the fundamental roles honey bees play in the environment has inspired us to find a way to give back to our pollinators. Our group has designed a project to help maintain our honey bee health, increase chances of survival, and create an educational atmosphere for students and other community members to visit and take part in at the SAP.
This location was intentional as chemicals used in conventional agriculture are causing issues with honeybees and other pollinators' health, as well as death. The SAP is an organic farm which means the pollinators who reside here will overall have less exposure to chemical contaminants and better odds of survival. This organic farm also has interns each semester who have to acquire a certain amount of hours for credit, so this pollinator habitat would not go unmaintained as there will forever be hands to do weeding, compost reinforcement, and other upkeep.
The Design:
The Design:
Our project for the SAP will have several different features to make the apiary spaces more improved.
Extend the apiary area to include more pollinator-friendly plants. These plants will rotate based on the seasons so the bees have a constant food source. These plants will have little infographic signs to inform visitors of what plants they are looking at and how they benefit pollinators.
Trail for people to walk through and have it be a self-guided tour of the pollinator plants. This would allow the area to be a bit more spacious, giving the honeybees variety and a little distance to fly out to and get to some of the plants.
Restructuring the platform the apiaries are currently sitting on so they are on a more even surface, so those with mobility issues and handicaps can get closer and enjoy the space.
Larger informational sign at the entrance to the hive areas with information on honeybees and why they are important pollinator species. This sign will also provide information on the beekeeping class and beekeepers' group so that people may get more involved.
What We Envision....
What We Envision....
Side View of Hives
Side View of Hives
Currently the hives are tucked away, not accessible for many, and unknown to most people that visit the SAP. The area surrounding the hives is over grown with grass and does not provide the necessary biodiversity to support the bees. As a learning environment, the hives do not provide an inviting atmosphere to enjoy.
Side View of Hives with Proposed Changes and Additions
Side View of Hives with Proposed Changes and Additions
Our idea is to completely remove the brush and add more diverse pollinator plants to allow the bees to live a healthier life. We also thought that including benches would be a nice enhancement, along with infographics to educate people on the different pollinator plants and the symbiotic relationship they have with bees. The incorporation of diverse pollinating plants, benches, and informational signage would help create a more welcoming environment for students and other visitors to enjoy.
Entrance to Hives
Entrance to Hives
The accessibility of the entrance to the hives is very low. Currently you have to watch your step as you enter the learning area. The path to the hives is narrow due to overgrown brush and is uneven which causes people to trip and fall. This is an issue since the hives are fragile and could be damaged in an accident.
Entranced to Hives with Proposed Changes and Additions
Entranced to Hives with Proposed Changes and Additions
Our idea for the entrance of the hives are centered around making the space more accessible and safer. A flat ground made of concrete, stone, or possibly wood chips would reduce risk of damaging the hives. This would create a more accessible space for better learning experiences.
Our Stakeholders:
Our Stakeholders:
Yumiko Jakobcic
Director, Office of Sustainability Practices
Recognizes the project to provide great benefits for the bees and educational opportunities for students.
Suggestions for our next steps including a drawn up proposal with coordination of the SAP Advisory Council and Michael Hinkle to get approval.
Provided extra resource help ideas from the Office of Sustainability, MSU Extension, looking at similar projects locally (Blandford Nature Center), as well as https://xerces.org/pollinator-resource-center/great-lakes.
Informed us of possible space and approval limitations.
Christina Hipshier
Christina Hipshier
GVSU Greenhouse Supervisor
GVSU Greenhouse Supervisor
Provided resources on pollinator plants that can be easily obtained and cost effective with the opportunity to grow them from seed at the Greenhouse or the SAP if space is available. https://www.michiganwildflowerfarm.com/seed-species-and-pricing/, https://ottawacd.org/native-plants/, and https://grownearthfriendly.com/.
Provided examples of perennial pollinator plants can be grown easily from seed: Allium, Asters, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Monarda, Foxglove, etc.
Introduced the importance of having flowering plants for all growing seasons: spring bulbs and flowering trees, summer blooming perennials, and fall plants for season extension like Asters, Joe Pye Weed, GoldenRod, and garden flowers that the SAP already grows- Zinnias, Cosmos, and Sunflowers.
Outside people/projects/organizations to look at: https://pollinators.msu.edu/questions/ and https://www.michiganbees.org/
Kelly Parker
Professor, Environmental and Sustainable Studies and Philosophy
Experience working with college students on capstone projects dealing with environmental topics. Suggest looking into similar projects like https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ens_undergrad/16/, from 2017 by Gracey Mussina, Emily Noordyke, and Claire Seekely.
Next steps: survey the current pollinator-friendly plants in and around the SAP, identify where new pollinator plant placements should go, and research the plants we should use.
Provided us feedback on things to remember like time and money- will this be a worthwhile investment?
Michael Hinkle
Farm Manager and Educator, Office of Sustainability Practices
Michael has experience managing other projects developed by SAP Interns.
He would love to help out with this project as much as he can.
He is looking to see steps in creating a cost benefit analysis.
Ana Heck
Ana Heck
Apiculture Extension Educator, MSU
Apiculture Extension Educator, MSU
Provided helpful links to course materials, other community science projects, and pollinator kits and habitats:
https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/smart-gardening-for-kids-how-to-make-your-yard-bee-friendly
https://www.canr.msu.edu/home_gardening/tip_sheets/smart-pollinators
https://pollinators.msu.edu/resources/pollinator-planting/pollinator-gardens/
Sources:
Sources:
Blaauw, B., Isaacs, R. (2014). Flower plantings increase wild bee abundance and the pollination services provided to pollination-dependent crop. British Ecological Society. https://doi-org.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/10.1111/1365-2664.12257
Buchmann, S. (2006). Letters from the hive: An intimate history of bees, honey, and humankind. New York: Bantom.
Butters, Jessica, et al. “Native Flowering Border Crops Attract High Pollinator Abundance and Diversity, Providing Growers the Opportunity to Enhance Pollination Services.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 17 Mar. 2022, https://academic.oup.com/ee/article/51/2/492/6550140.
Dolezal, Adam G, and Amy L Toth. “Feedbacks between Nutrition and Disease in Honey Bee Health.” Current Opinion in Insect Science, Elsevier, 8 Feb. 2018, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214574517300834?via%3Dihub.
Hajzeri, Arlinda, and Victor Osei Kwadwo. “Investigating Integration of Edible Plants in Urban Open Spaces: Evaluation of Policy Challenges and Successes of Implementation.” Land Use Policy, Pergamon, 9 Mar. 2019, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837718304447.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), What Is Pollination?, https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/What_is_Pollination/index.shtml.
Zuniga-Teran, Adriana A., and Andrea K. Gerlak. “A Multidisciplinary Approach to Analyzing Questions of Justice Issues in Urban Greenspace.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 30 May 2019, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3055.
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