Honey Bees are thriving on the UWO campus thanks to a former student. “I was walking along the path behind the Student Recreation and Wellness building when it struck me that campus would be a great place for some beehives, “said Mariah Parkin, who graduated this past spring, while she was walking around campus last summer.
The adding of the bees is said to help with local food production and address the declining bee populations.
Parkin has never owned her own hives but has learned from others including Shannon Davis-Foust, a UWO senior lecturer for biology and environmental studies. “I think the bees’ most important purpose on campus will be to raise awareness of the problems of pesticides affecting pollinators and insects in general”, said Davis-Foust.
Brad Spanbauer, who is the campus sustainability officer said there are many reasons to have bees on campus, foremost to help boost the bee population. Parkin applied for a Student Green Fund last year and learned in December it was approved. The Green Fund is a student-run committee funded by students’ segregated fees, to implement sustainability projects for the Oshkosh campus. Beehives will be cared for by the members of the Sustainable Beekeeping club.
Reporting for “Week In Review” – Dylan Herrin
