If you see a pack of roving CSOM kids covered in red welts, know that it’s part of the newest Office of Sustainability project: an urban beehive installed on the top of Fulton Hall.
Director of Sustainability Bob Pion was approached by two Boston College parents and donors, Fred and Donna Siegel, who offered to pay for the installation and maintenance of this beehive. From its rooftop position, the manufactured hive receives the necessary air, sunlight, and space to thrive. Workers will maintain the hive and monitor bee activity. Since winter is coming, bee enthusiasts will have to wait until spring to witness the full-strength buzz. The bees serve as a way of attempting to sustain a dwindling bee population, while also offering opportunities for study.
At this point, the beehive is not being used for classes, as the main purpose is to promote environmental sustainability, including protecting creatures from environmental degradation. This beehive stands alongside a number of recent sustainability efforts over the past few years, like game-day recycling efforts, bike projects, and BC Dining’s refillable container discount. As Pion said, “It reinforces the message that we have about the importance of preserving the environment and doing what we can to mitigate detrimental effects resulting in bee colony extinction in the natural environment.”
In the future, there are plans to use the beehive for classes and these plans should be implemented as soon as possible. The study and observation remains a good use of the hive, and bringing the project to students would only enhance the usefulness of the hive. By using this project as a way to engage students environmentally, BC would be taking a small step toward addressing other environmental issues on campus, notably improving the environmental studies department. Using this resource alongside others, such as the garden in Brighton and the greenhouse in Higgins Hall, the department can offer students further opportunities to interact with the environment during their classes.
While this specific resource would simply be a useful way to help students explore ecosystems and promote interest in environmental studies and classes, the concept relates to a general need to improve and expand the environmental studies program. Sustainability and other environment-related studies are a growing field and are clearly an interest to students at BC, as evidenced by the efforts of Pion’s sustainability program and even the inception of groups like Climate Justice at BC. Interest in this field goes beyond BC and working to strengthen the environmental studies program helps BC in its standing among other comparable universities. It demonstrates a commitment to the changing interests of students and the increasing call for sustainable living. Small efforts like this beehive should be used to help promote a stronger environmental studies program by increasing interest that could slowly precipitate the larger necessary expansions.
Featured Image by Ellen F. O’Connell / AP Photo
