THE BUZZ
THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF
ISSUE 01
A MESSAGE FROM 'THE BRIANS' - 02 THE YEAR IN NUMBERS - 03 NEXT YEAR'S GOAL:
EDUCATION COMMUNITY CENTER - 04
GIVING TUESDAY - 05 HELP US BUILD OUR "HIVE" - 06 OUR BOARD MEMBERS - 07 A CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS - 09 UPCOMING EVENTS - 09 BEE JUNIOR CORNER - 10
NOV. 2019
A MESSAGE FROM 'THE BRIANS' BY BRIAN PETERSON-ROEST & BRIAN ROEST-PETERSON PRESIDENT & CEO AND VICE PRESIDENT & TREASURER
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02
THE YEAR IN NUMBERS
58
160
Total hives placed since 2016
9MM 39
Hives placed in 2019
Number honey bees living in our hives
77
Individuals that attended 'Becoming a Beekeeper' workshops Educational workshops given
11
Live honey harvest events
2K
16K
57
Pounds of honey harvested Pounds of honey left for the bees to feed on during the winter Partnerships we have w/ other local orgs.
$53K
Amount raised so far for our Education Community Center 03
NOV. 2019
NEXT YEAR'S GOAL:
EDUCATION COMMUNITY CENTER Our mission has always been to create a cooperative effort between residents, schools, organizations, & businesses in the city of Detroit & SE Michigan to contribute to both the health of honey bee colonies and the education of their importance to our environment. In order to spread this mission further we plan to build Detroit's first educational community center dedicated primarily to the conservation of honey bees & other pollinators, out of two 40' upcycled shipping containers in 2020. Along with hosting educational workshops & provide a meeting space to the community, this Center will also serve as our organization's new 'hive' headquarters. It will also be a home to around 100,000 honey bees that will have a "penthouse" space atop the center! These bees will also give back by increasing yields of the numerous nearby residential and community gardens as they forage in a 3-mile radius from their hive. Tours of the hives will also give community members, including students from schools across the state, a chance to ease misconceptions & apprehensions of community hives, & provide the opportunity to learn how pollination works in providing the food that reaches their dinner plates.
We would like to give a tremendous "thank you" to Studio Detroit for creating the renderings of our Education Community Center. They also created a fun & interactive virtual reality of the center that many have had the opportunity to experience at our past events!
04
NOV. 2019
BLACK FRIDAY, CYBER MONDAY BY MELISSA M. BOBOWSKI BOARD MEMBER | GRANTS & EDUCATION
2019 was another incredible year for Bees in the D & we could not have done it without having fantastic supporters like you! As we look forward to 2020, we have one main goal in mind - to break ground on our Education Community Center. Originally, this center was a part of our 10-year plan, but because of the generous support we have felt in just 4 short years & because honey bees continue to face many environmental issues, we believe the need for this center in Detroit is now. The honey bee population is still declining worldwide due to diseases, pesticides, & weather disasters attributed to climate change. Just last winter in the US, honey bees experienced their worst winter die-off rate in more than a decade, at 38% of beekeepers' colonies dying between October 2018 & April 2019. Not only will this center be the first of its kind by being dedicated to educating visitors primarily on the importance of honey bees & other pollinators and our environment, but it will also become an integral part of the Detroit community. We plan to open its doors for other organizations to use for their small events & workshops, as well. This center will also become our main "hive" & serve as Bees in the D headquarters.
Mark your calendars!
Giving Tuesday is December 3 & we hope you will keep Bees in the D in mind as you give. Our goal is to raise $50,000 to put toward the overall cost of $150,000 for the construction of our education community center. Check the next page to find out how you can help us save the bees and make Detroit the best it can "bee"!
05
NOV. 2019
HELP BUILD OUR NEW "HIVE" Just as it takes thousands of worker bees to build a hive, so will our new Education Community Center. Taking inspiration from the internal structure of honey bee hive, we have incorporated a wall in the center that will be comprised of a series of engraved individual hexagon tiles with five donor levels identified through the use of varying colors. If you hit a donation level, you will be able to personally dedicate your honeycomb cell, if you wish. The design concept is meant to convey the positive influence and impact that donors have on creating a stronger framework when added together – each donor’s contribution also adds to the mosaic of future interactions between Bees in the D, the Detroit community, & every visitor that will visit the center. We are estimating that the center will cost $150,000 to build.
"QUEEN BEE"
"WORKER"
"DRONE"
"BEEKEEPER"
"POLLINATOR"
$5001 +
$2001 - 5000
$1001 - 2000
$501 - 1000
$250 - 500
DONATION
DONATION
DONATION
DONATION
DONATION
HOW TO DONATE: Donate to our facebook #givingtuesday fundraiser - Facebook will match the first $7MM donated Create your own facebook #givingtuesday fundraiser for Bees in the D at www.facebook.com/fundraisers/ On our website at www.beesinthed.com Send a check: 200 River Place Dr., Detroit, MI 48207
06
NOV. 2019
MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS BRIAN
PETERSON-ROEST Brian Peterson-Roest is the co-founder & president.He has been a 5th grade teacher at Musson Elementary in Rochester Hills for 21 years & has both a masters & specialist degree in Educational Leadership/Administration from OU. Brian is an Adjunct Professor at OU & President of the Michigan Science Teacher Association. Brian was personally honored by President Barack Obama for receiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics & Science Teaching (2012). He was also a recipient of the Michigan Science Teacher of the Year Award (2011), & the Human Excellence in Teaching Award (2015).
BRIAN
ROEST-PETERSON SAVE FOR INFO
BETTY
CROWDER Betty teaches elementary science & elementary health education in the teacher education department at Oakland University. She is the executive director of the Michigan Science Teachers Association. She has been involved with Bees in the D since its inception & is an amateur beekeeper herself.
ANDREA
WASHINGTON Andrea is the board secretary & came to Bees in the D as a friend of the founders, where she volunteered her time at their first events. Her role quickly grew; assisting with hive set-ups & inspections, & adding the title “beekeeper” in 2019. Andrea lives in Hazel Park and is a proud fur-mom of two rescue dogs. She loves to travel & spend time w/ friends & family.
CHRISTINA FAIR
Christina is our Event Chair & is also VP & Partner of Rocket Fiber, a Detroit based start up internet company.Christina and board member John have 2 incredible kiddos, Liam (13) and Anabelle (8). She loves spending time with the family, dying her hair different colors monthly, running, and playing drums in the Detroit City Football Club Northern Guard Drum Corps. Christina’s goal in life is to make things better for everyone she meets. She hopes you’ll make today a great day!
07
NOV. 2019
MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS HANK
THOENES Hank is involved with the education and beekeeping initiatives on the Bees in the D Board. His family has owned a beekeeping business near Tucson, AZ & he taught beekeeping for the Peace Corps in the West Indies. After teaching science for 30 years, Hank is spending his retirement working on the bee highway with Bees in the D.
JOHN FAIR
John Fair is the Technology Chair for Bees In The D, as well as the Chief Technology Officer of Rocket Homes, in the Quicken Loans family of companies. John has a degree in Botany and Plant Pathology from Michigan State University (Go Green!) & is self-taught in the tech space with a background in Engineering and Information Security. John is married to Christina & has 2 awesome step-kids – Liam (13) and Anabelle (8), & he loves bow ties, hugs, & helping people level up both personally & professionally.
JULIE
POMERLEAU Born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Julie has been employed in the graphic design field for over 8 years. She currently specializes in SEO & social media management. In her spare time she enjoys playing in the dirt with plants, painting water colors, reading, and curating playlists on Spotify.
RAY
ARONDOWSKI Ray has spent the last 20+ years restoring pre-war classic cars. Three years ago he became interested in bees unknowing there was a problem. Since then he became a beekeeper, an advocate for pollinator gardens, and a pesticide-free neighborhood.
MELISSA BOBOWSKI
Melissa originally became involved with Bees in the D because she was hoping to be given enough wax to make 4 reusable beeswax wraps (she has since made over 1000!). It wasn't long after the initial contact that she realized how special this organization was & began to offer to her grant-writing & creative education skills. Melissa has a MS in Biology from Arkansas State University & in her spare time likes to draw & also teaches Environmental Science at MCC. 08
NOV. 2019
A CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS Did you know that Bees in the D is currently 100% run by volunteers? It's true! Even the Brians both have full-time careers outside of Bees in the D. We would not be able to function without our generous volunteers. From manning a table at an event, to helping with bottling jars of honey, or even beekeeping, we need your help! Please join us at Granite City (100 Renaissance Center, Unit 1101, Detroit) on February 22, 2020 from 1-4pm to learn more about where your skills could fit in to help further our organization & mission.
DON'T LET THESE EVENTS FLY BY!
Below are the events that we already have planned coming up. To see more details about these events & any events added go to our Facebook page or website.
06
Join us at Detroit City Distillery at 7pm for the unleashing of a honey bourbon single barrel release made w/BITD honey & the release of our honey aged in a bourbon barrel.Limited bottles of bourbon & honey!
22
Have you wanted to volunteer with us? Come to our volunteer workshop at Granite City in Detroit at 1pm to learn about all of the opportunities of where we could use your help!
DEC. FEB.
19
MAR.
22
MAR.
Come to the Royal Oak Library at 7pm to hear Brian teach about how to create a pollinator-friendly garden. Join us again at the Royal Oak Library to learn about how climate change is affecting honey bees and other pollinators from our board member, Melissa. (time TBA)
09
NOV. 2019
BEE JUNIOR CORNER Can you color & label the body parts of a honey bee worker?
Antennae | Eyes | Wings | Abdomen | Thorax | Stinger | Legs
This image provided by:
10
200 RIVER PLACE DRIVE, DETROIT, MI, 48207 (313) 462-9624 | BEES@BEESINTHED.COM @BEESINTHED