LLCC is now home to two donated honey bee hives! The LLCC Sustainability Committee was approached in the spring about placing bee hives on the campus. Beekeeper Dr. Stu Jacobson worked with committee member Steve Handy and workforce specialist Marnie Record to make sure the bees found a location identified as a good place for the bees as well as a safe place for those on campus. The bees are located on the southeast end of campus along the tree line. Signs will be posted near the hive area to alert people of the location. Most recently, community education students in Bee Series: Fall Management, were able to have a live demonstration at the site. In the future, credit classes will be able to incorporate the bee hives into their academic learning and Community Learning will be able to expand their class offerings. If you would like to read about all the benefits of bees, check out Jessica Tucker’s article on One Green Planet titled: How Bees Benefit Other Living Things. The college will surely benefit from bees in ways described in the article which include:

• Benefits to our prairies and flower bearing plants – the perfect relationship in nature; bees need flowers and flowers need bees!
• Agriculture – did you know pollination of agricultural crops are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat!
• Providing food – who doesn’t like honey!
• Acting as environmental indicators –the decline of bees is an indicator that something is amiss in our environment – perhaps the effects of pesticides!

For more information contact Julie Rourke, chair, Sustainability Committee.