In an effort to promote sustainability on campus and a greater understanding of human dependence on healthy pollinator communities, MCAD's third floor rooftop hosts two thriving bee hives. Thanks to the efforts of Printshop and Papermaking Studio Director Diana Eicher, these two hives have been part of MCAD since 2014. They are maintained and monitored by the University of Minnesota Bee Squad's Hive to Bottle Program. In summer 2016, the two colonies of bees were divided into two more. As MCAD's roof could not house the new colonies, the University of Minnesota Bee Squad placed them at the Bee Veterans Apiary at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport. Joel Terry ’17, MFA, decorated the hives with a special spray-painted designs to help the bees to distinguish between them. The MCAD bee hives have produced hundreds of pounds of honey. The MCAD Student Bee Club meets and plans activities and events to help support the bees. For more information, or to join the Bee Club, please email them at beeclub@mcad.edu. The MCAD Bee Club is open to all students.Since then, the MCAD Student Bee Club's goal is to promote awareness about Colony Collapse Disorder and a greater understanding of human dependence on healthy pollinator communities. Through on-campus honey tastings, observations of the MCAD hives, honey bottling, on campus pollinator plantings, soap making workshops, and even Valentines, the MCAD Printshop and Bee Club work together to show the love for a creature of many disciplines. Diana Eicher, Director of the Printshop and Paper Studios, is the Bee Club Staff Advisor. All donations to the Bee Club directly support the ongoing maintenance of these hives.Honey from the hives is sold at the MCAD Art Cellar.
Also, check out The Plant Catalogue of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
2021
If you are interested in the MCAD Bee Club, please stop by a Bee Club meeting, to see what the Bee Club is all about! No obligation to join! Please contact the MCAD Student Bee Club at beeclub@mcad.edu
2016 Application for Bee Campus USA
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