Community Builders of Kanas City partner MO Hives KC has been busy as, well, a bee. Enjoying huge growth since its inception in 2019, the organization’s co-founder Dr. Marion Pierson was named 2021 Beekeeper of the Year by the Missouri State Beekeepers Association in October. The nonprofit organization has been hard at work placing honeybee farms on blighted urban properties in order to pollinate nearby food gardens, providing fun and educational programs to the community and driving economic opportunities.
“I’m floored that I was chosen as Missouri’s beekeeper of the year,” said Dr. Pierson. “I think the Missouri State Beekeepers Association liked the innovative approaches we, as an organization, are taking, not just in terms of the urban locations of our hives, but also the infrared cameras and mobile app technology we are using to monitor the health and productivity of our hives.”
Over the past year, the organization has grown from a single bee farm on six vacant and blighted lots secured through a low-cost lease from CBKC at Wabash and 50th St., to five locations with an all-volunteer staff of 12. The new hive installations can be found at Blue Hills orchard, 4812 Park Ave.; Children’s Mercy Hospital Community Garden at 22nd and Gillham Rd.; Hope Faith Ministries community garden, 705 Virginia Ave.; and atop the vacant Adam’s Mark Hotel building at 9103 E 39th St. In addition, the Hope Faith Homeless assistance campus hives are set to begin next spring.
“Our footprint keeps expanding,” says Dr. Pierson. “We are eager for more volunteers and donors who want to support what we are doing.”
Dr. Pierson enjoys educating the public about the importance of honeybees to the food supply.
“Everybody needs to know that bees and pollinators are a necessary part of the food chain,” she said. “Since 80 percent of the world’s plants are pollinated by bees, including 90 food crops, having a healthy food supply starts with having healthy bees.”
Ensuring the proliferation of healthy bees is important to the economy as well. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, honeybee colonies contribute $15 billion to the economy annually, but the dwindling honeybee population – almost halved since the 1940s – is a threat.
To educate the community about the importance of beekeeping, MO Hives KC has created a variety of programs, partnerships and volunteer opportunities. One vehicle for education is its summer green jobs workforce development program. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) partnered with Heartland Conservation Alliance and nearly a dozen other community partners to develop the program. MDC funded eight MO Hives KC beekeeping/ apiary stewards who interacted virtually and onsite with speakers from around the country. Seven students fully completed the internship, and they were offered seasonal honey harvesting jobs with a local honey supplier.
In addition, MO Hives KC participates in educational talks and hosts events like its harvest celebration in September that offered honey tastings from Missouri beekeepers and food samplings from area gardens.
The MO Hives KC organization invites all Kansas Citians to join the bee movement. Volunteers are needed year-round to help with activities like feeding the bees and maintaining the apiary sites. To get involved or learn more visit MOHives.org. To see news coverage about MO Hives KC visit KSHB.