2024 marks 115 years since Extension’s founding in 1909, when a state law was passed to “maintain a division of agriculture Extension and home education in the department of agriculture of the University of Minnesota.”
Beekeeping, along with pollinator health, is just one of the topics that continue to expand and change.
Bee Vets
Pam Gieselman was one of 40 U.S. military veterans in attendance at the Bee Vets apiary near the airport in the Twin Cities in June 2024. The program is helping her to think about the country life she is planning for her future.
“I’m an Army vet and I came out here for my second time this summer to learn,” she says. “Hopefully in the future, I’ll be able to keep my own hives.”
“Once you learn how to do it, beekeeping is an incredible experience in personal empowerment,” says Katie Lee, Extension apiculture educator. “It’s no wonder that interest continues to rise among veterans.”
Minnesota led the states
Bee Vets, as a part of the Bee Squad, is a collaboration between Extension and the University of Minnesota Bee Lab. But the work began in 1912 when the Minnesota Legislature provided for the establishment of a division of bee culture at University Farm.
Father Francis Jager of Mound taught the first outreach courses in beekeeping offered in any school in the U.S. According to historical documents, other states sent representatives to Minnesota to learn; they then established bee education at their own schools and universities.
M.C. Tanquary, zoologist and Arctic explorer, led efforts after Jager retired in 1928. Tanquary was followed by Mykola Haydak from 1933 to 1967, and then Basil Furgala from 1967 to 1993. Furgala modified management practices based on practical research in honey bee biology.
As new challenges arose, Marla Spivak, professor and Extension entomologist, expanded and updated the Beekeeping for Northern Climates course in 1996. The Bee Lab updated the course again in 2020 to make it more accessible to the public through an online offering and a revised manual for more visual learning.
Spivak retires in 2024, but the work carries on through the class as well as the many activities of the Bee Squad, including Bee Vets, Bee Arts, Pollinator Ambassadors and Bees in Prison.
Bees in Prison serves inmates at the correctional facilities in Willow River and Faribault. The Faribault program donates honey to the local food shelf as part of its restitution program.
“The benefits of caring for these tiny animals extends to people at all points along their journey,” says Lee. “The fascination with bees, coupled with the right education and opportunities to practice, can change lives.”
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