Abuzz About The Bees

Brittany, an intern, who works with Bee Public.

Although she has started out as a journalist, life has taken Kate Franz in a different direction. You see, she has become interested in bees, everything about them, including their role in plant pollination. As Kate says, "One out of every three bites of food we eat is made possible by a bee. Without the pollination they provide, we wouldn't be able to grow tomatoes, almonds, avocados, and many of the foods we depend on."

And that's the aspect of bees about which Ms. Franz cares most, that and the protection of bee colonies. She's not really as interested in their commercial uses, for honey, for instance. Since she lives in the Indianapolis area, she maintains hives throughout the downtown area, providing hives to organic urban farms for free. She says, "Most farmers don't have the time or resources to learn to keep bees, but pollinators are so essential to farmers - so many crops depend on pollination." But that is an aspect of bees of which she is quite knowledgeable.



Most of Ms. Franz's bee services are through her own group, BEE PUBLIC, of which she is President. Besides managing bee colonies, the group also provides education and outreach to those who wish to establish and maintain their own colonies. They also rescue and relocate ailing colonies of bees.

Speaking of ailing colonies of bees, Kate is familiar with the issues surrounding bee colonies, such as the die-off of bees that occurred in many parts of the country. Part of her work, then, is also concerned with advocating for bees. Here she discusses her plans for the future, "[B]ees really drew me in because of their importance to our food system, and the fact that they're in quite a bit of danger. Keeping bees was never about harvesting honey for me, it was always about the social justice aspect. My next endeavor is to work with the city council to figure out a way to stop using neonicitinoid [bee-killing] pesticides in our public spaces here in Indy. Other cities have started to do it, and I think we could be one of the next."

Bees help maintain healthy gardens.

Both the bees and the urban organic farmers of Indy are fortunate to have an expert like Kate Franz so willing to help and advocate for bees. As she says, bees are vital to pollinating many plants in our environment. Having no bees would create havoc with our food supply, nature's beauty, and our ability to sustain human life on this one earth. We don't get another chance; if we mess up, it's over for all of us riding on this planet.

Part of one of the colonies.

Thanks to this article from Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/kate-franzman-bee-public/; this article from Indystar: http://www.indystar.com/story/money/2015/01/30/questions-kate-franzman-shares-buzz-bees/22477763/; and the above link.

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