A graduate student assisted The Beez Kneez, a Minneapolis small business, in its efforts to raise awareness about the importance of honey bees and pollinators to the health of our food system.
University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service student Lindsay Kuehn of Minneapolis, Minn., spent the past summer working in Minneapolis creating an interactive timeline to tell the story of how The Beez Kneez evolved from a business initially created to produce local honey and deliver it by bicycle, to a business that also educates the public through in-hive classes and has spearheaded an advocacy campaign to create positive legislation to improve the health of pollinators in Minnesota.
With one out of every three bites we eat resulting from the work that pollinators do on a daily basis, Kuehn’s project aimed to help The Beez Kneez convey the importance of honey bees to the health of our food system and our lives. Over 85% of Minnesotans are concerned about the recent disappearance of pollinator species. The Beez Kneez, itself, lost over 50,000 bees in a twenty-four-hour period in 2013 due to the application of a common pesticide near one of its hives.
The loss of that hive spurred The Beez Kneez to launch the Healthy Bees, Healthy Lives campaign, which has been working to change legislation in Minnesota so that it becomes more pollinator-friendly. Kuehn was tasked with telling the story of how—and why—the Healthy Bees, Healthy Lives campaign was developed. “The timeline was instrumental in translating this work to the public in a digestible way which will further strengthen and communicate our goals as beekeepers and educators,” said Kristy Allen, founder of The Beez Kneez.
Kuehn completed the project as part of the Clinton School Capstone program, which is the culminating project for students leading up to their Master of Public Service degree.