Airport Experience® News - Customer Service Issue 2023

SUSTAINABILTY SNAPSHOT

Above, Right: Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport’s on-site apiary doubles as an education and outreach center, as it is host to the University of Minnesota’s Bee Veterans program, which provides free beekeeping education for military veterans,.

“We were fortunate when we launched the program to have very few challenges,” says Jessica Helgen, coordinator and instructor for the Bee Veterans program. “Like almost all beekeepers, we’ve had issues with a common honeybee pest, the parasitic Varroa mite. We’re using the hives in the Bee Vets teaching apiary as part of a nationwide honeybee health survey and we incorporate lessons about mite management into our programming. Work done in the Bee Vets apiary helps to promote honeybee health in many apiaries beyond our own!” Ben Ziegler, veteran, Bee Veterans instructor and bee lab researcher, agrees

that the challenges have been minimal. “The biggest current challenge is that, at times, there’s too much interest in the program and some people need to go on a wait list. The reason for this is that this program works best if there are smaller groups clustered around a limited number of hives so that a more meaningful and informative experience can occur.” In addition to supporting the MAC’s sustainability interests in improving land management and environmental stewardship practices, the Bee Veterans program also enhances the lives of participants and raises awareness within the community on the importance of bee conservation. “In addition to providing a habitat for honeybees and engagement opportunities for veterans, our hope is that the apiary at MSP will become a model for pollinator advocacy, encouraging visitors and participants to support bees through planting pollinator-friendly plants, donating to pollinator research or simply helping to spread the word about the importance of our bees,” says Emmy Waldhart, manager of sustainability for MAC. “In the upcoming years, we intend to continue to expand pollinator-friendly landscapes and practices at MSP and raise awareness in our airport community about the importance of pollinators.”

Below: Orlando International Airport collaborates with Bee Serious on its apiary program, which during peak season includes more than 500 hives located within several locations of undeveloped airport property that aren’t accessible to the public.

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AX NEWS CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUE 2023