Detroit: Bee City USA
Summary
The students worked with Detroit Hives to establish Detroit as an office Bee City. They prepared the official application to Bee City USA and laid the groundwork for the passage of a Detroit City Council resolution.
Community partner
Detroit Hives
Students
Capri Backus (MPP ’21)
Alissa Graff (MPP/MSI ’20)
Maximillian Grahl (BA ’21)
Project overview
Detroit Hives is a 501c(3) non-profit organization that transforms vacant lots into bee farms for the conservation of honeybees. Detroit HIves also works to educate Detroit communities and local schools about bees and their contribution to the environment. Located on Detroit’s Eastside, the organization seeks to bring diversity and cognizance to bee awareness and re-building inner-city communities.
The students worked with Detroit Hives to establish Detroit as an office Bee City. They prepared the official application to Bee City USA and laid the groundwork for the passage of a Detroit City Council resolution. The students engaged with Detroit City Councilmember Andre Spivey, Detroit City Council’s Green Taskforce, the UM-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center and Bee City USA. The students also helped to develop strategies to create “bee-friendly” lawns in Detroit that included calling for the end of pesticide spraying and planting and growing flowers native to Michigan’s ecosystem. Finally the students drafted a memo to assist Detroit Hives in their pursuit of funding opportunities to expand their programming and capacity.