Enter your email Address

Giving To Mason Giving To Mason-Stacked
  • Vision
      • gmu-arrowVision
      • Make Your Difference
        • Students
        • Research
        • Campus
      • More
        • See the Impact
        • Give Now
  • Impact
      • gmu-arrowImpact
      • Impact Stories
        • Donor Recognition
      • More
        • See the Impact
        • Give Now
  • How To Give
      • gmu-arrowHow To Give
      • Giving by School
        • Athletics
        • College of Education and Human Development
        • College of Public Health
        • College of Humanities and Social Sciences
        • College of Science
        • College of Visual and Performing Arts
        • Hylton Performing Arts Center
        • Honors College
        • Antonin Scalia Law School
        • Schar School of Policy and Government
        • School of Business
        • Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution
        • University Libraries
        • University Life
        • College of Engineering and Computing
      • Corporate Giving
        • Overview
      • Make A Planned Gift
        • Overview
        • Explore More
      • More
        • See the Impact
        • Give Now
        • Engagement Officers
  • Connect
      • gmu-arrowConnect
      • Ways to Connect
        • Contact Us
        • Alumni Engagement
        • George Mason University
          Foundation, Inc.
        • Impact
      • Questions?
        • FAQ
      • Policies
        • Donor Bill of Rights
        • Administrative Fee Policy
      • Contact Our Team
        • Contact University Advancement And Alumni Relations Staff
        • Contact School, College, And Unit Advancement Staff
  • Visit
    Gmu.Edu
  • GiveNow
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Business

The Honey Bee Initiative

08/31/2016
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail

“Our campus also hosts two fully functional apiaries,” is not something commonly heard on a college tour—but then again, Mason is anything but common. The Honey Bee Initiative is a Mason-led project that focuses on engaging students in an innovative education while supporting collaborative research tackling the honey bee crisis and becoming a leader in sustainable bee keeping.

The initiative was launched in 2012 through the sponsorship of the School of Integrative Studies and the help of a Patriot Green Fund grant. Since the program began in 2012, it has grown to include four apiaries: two on the Fairfax Campus (the original campus apiary and Buchanan House), one at the Smithsonian–Mason School of conservation in Warren County, and the apiaries at Sunny Side Farm in Loudoun County.

The initiative also offers classes to Mason students on beekeeping and sustainability, which have boasted extensive waiting lists since their inception in 2013.  The Honey Bee Initiative also includes several public–private partnerships and global outreach programs focused in the Andes and Amazon in Peru. Through these outreach programs, students have the opportunity to travel to South America and get hands-on experience working with the communities to establish sustainable entrepreneurial beekeeping programs.

Moving forward, the initiative hopes to strengthen and expand the multidisciplinary reach of the program (arts, engineering, etc.) by focusing on honey bee health, while using the data collected from the research to improve local food production, environmental conservation, and economic opportunities.

Interested in supporting the efforts of the Honey Bee Initiative? Here’s how you can help:

  • Hive upgrades to gather real-time data to measure the bees’ health and inform research.
  • Providing students with scholarships to help with the ability to take the Sustainability and Beekeeping course, as well as provide a stipend to travel to the Amazon.
  • Educating students and the community about the interdependence of pollinators and human food sources, and modeling best practices in the management of honeybee hives.
  • Advancing global sustainability initiatives and economic alternatives for underserved regions.
  • Collaborating with public and private groups on honey bee sustainability including proper queen selection and regional distribution.

Support the Honey Bee Initiative

8/31/2016 CM

Tags: bees, environment, students

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail

Related Posts

Featured
03/02/2020

Hine Family’s Mason Legacy Keeps Growing

The Hine Family Scholarship Endowment will foster student-alumni connections.
/by Rob Riordan
Featured
12/14/2017

Gifts of the Season—Thanks to You

 



As 2017 draws to a close, Mason students are finishing up finals and contemplating…
/by Rob Riordan
Engineering and Computing
12/01/2017

Fund Helps Students Engineer Career Path

Mechanical engineering student Jay Park had a realization while working on his senior design…
/by admin
Campus
07/21/2017

Green Roof Project Reflects Student Ingenuity

Mason’s Rappahannock Parking Deck recently got a new roof—a green roof, to be specific,…
/by Rob Riordan
Giving To Mason Giving To Mason-Stacked
  • Vision
  • Impact
  • How to Give
  • Connect
  • Visit
    Gmu.Edu
  • GiveNow
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
Giving to Mason

George Mason University is Virginia’s largest public research university, located in one of the most important political, economic and intellectual hubs in the world. Our mission is to help students succeed, enrich our community, and contribute to solving the most complex global problems.

Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations

4400 University Drive, MS 1A3
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
703-993-8850

Copyright © 2023 George Mason University | www.gmu.edu

Privacy Policies | Sitemap

Scroll to top