[Pollinator] Urban Beekeeping Project, Detroit MI

[Kimberly Winter]

A very interesting project in need of collaborators and funding:

"We have wanted to write to you for some time to let you know of our project 
for an
urban beekeeping industry located within the City of Detroit, Michigan.

On October 5, 1999, the people of the State of Michigan (an important fruit 
and
vegetable producing state ) designated the honeybee, Apis mellifera, as 
their
official agricultural insect. The paradox is that from this particular year 
onward
the number of bee colonies has been in constant decline. In all places, the 
changes
in agricultural land use policies, the extensive use of pesticides and 
herbicides
severely fragmented their habitat and caused the death of millions of the 
greatest
pollinators. As a result, the endangered bees had to find new territories of 
refuge
and started developing a clear preference for cities, which ironically, now 
offer a
greater biodiversity than its rural counterpart. Detroit is one of these 
cities.

In a recent article of the Detroit News, one could read that “rather than a 
strong
urban core with rural outskirts, Metro Detroit may evolve into a suburban 
ring
around a re-ruralized core.” We believe Detroit is unique, so we went there 
to
investigate its large pockets of so-called “rural environment.” Detroit is 
not
exactly what most people would consider a part of rural America, however on 
our last
visit, September to November 2004, we verified that the city actually 
comprise more
than 40,000 empty lots ( compared with 9,800 in New York for example ), that 
urban
farming is a practice in force since the beginning of the 1980’s and that 
more than
a dozen farms have already been set up within the city limits. We met “The 
Big
Three,” John Gruchala ( Detroit Agriculture Network ), Brother Rick Samyn ( 
Capuchin
Soup Kitchen, Earth Works Gardens ) and Paul Weertz ( Catherine Ferguson 
Academy ).
John, Rick and Paul with the help of many gardeners, activists, schools, 
churches,
community organizations and food banks initiated more than forty community 
gardens
and micro-farms and started not only to grow food, but also process it and
distribute it to finally support entire neighbourhoods.

So, in an attempt to foster the multiplication of such initiatives, we 
propose to “pollinate” the city of
Detroit. The pollination of Detroit will encompass the supply of, first 30, 
then
300, to perhaps culminate at about 3000 oversized beehives well positioned ( 
close
to existing community gardens and micro-farms, on vacant lots or on very 
desolate,
underused and often-empty parking lots ) in the city. This will amount to a 
very
sophisticated beekeeping industry dedicated to not only produce honey or 
other hive
products ( customary beekeeping ) but also and for the most part, queen bees 
and
package bees for providing pollination services ( commercial beekeeping ) to 
fruit
and vegetable growers in Metro Detroit, in Southwest Michigan and elsewhere 
as it is
the degree and extent of pollination that will ensure a higher crop yield 
and a
better produce quality. In addition, it goes without saying that managing 
bees is
the best thing one could do to reduce the proliferation of the Varroa mites, 
the
ectoparasites of the honeybees.

The great diversity of vegetables and berries found in Detroit’s community 
gardens,
the alfalfa and clover fields of the urban farms, the wildflower meadows on 
a good
number of vacant lots, and the sunflowers on Ford Motor’s property already 
add up to
a very valuable source of nectar and pollen. In the future, this could be 
enhanced
further if beekeepers and organizations such as the Detroit Agriculture 
Network,
Earthworks Garden and The Greening of Detroit were to encourage more people 
to
plant. Here and there, but within close proximity to the hives, vacant lots 
could
turn into temporary bee pastures: fields of poppies and cornflowers, and 
soon after,
fields of phacelias, lupines and sunflowers. Further than turning wasteland 
into
appealing urban scenery, the flower patches will decontaminate the soil, 
improve its
fertility and finally, contribute to a better environment.

We are currently preparing an outline proposal for our feasibility study and 
we
would like to know whether you may be able to put us in touch with some 
companies or
institutions or individuals that could be interested in supporting and 
sponsoring
such a project.

Thank you.

Kind regards.
Stéphane Orsolini and Erika Mayr.

PS: Bees sting and that is why people are scared of them. For this reason, 
we
decided to oblige the bees’ flight above people's heads. As they travel in a
straight path to their hives we planned to keep the beehives stored “up 
there” and
“out of the way”. Out of the way, but surely not “out of sight”. Someday, 
when
driving through the city or parking your car, look forward to see these 
structures
as an integral part of Detroit’ streetscapes.

---

Please respond to: stephane.orsolini at web.de, erikamayr at yahoo.com

Stéphane Orsolini. 00 49 ( 0 ) 177 270 20 62 and 00 49 ( 0 ) 30 25 56 67 97
Pallasstrasse, 28. BERLIN Schoeneberg, DE 10781. DEUTSCHLAND

Erika Mayr. 00 49 ( 0 ) 179 230 20 76 and 00 49 ( 0 ) 30 61 62 70 80
Wiener Strasse, 21. BERLIN Kreuzberg, DE 10999. DEUTSCHLAND"