Eleanor's Blog
7/11/14
We visited a hive today at a friends farm. My family and I went out to see and experience a beehive. It was quite an adventure. My sister and I dressed up in the big bee suits and helped the beekeepers check the hive.
Check out Megan Carlson's Blog about her experience through her creative and beautiful website.
http://lightthroughglass.wordpress.com/2014/07/14/honeybees/
5/29/14
Today we interviewed Erin from Beez Kneez! She was so kind and welcoming to us! They do such amazing things there. Their main goals are to raise awareness for honey bees, teach others about bees and their importance and make and sell honey. We learned sooooo much from them! We talked to both Kristy, the founder of Beez Kneez, and Erin, the head educator. We had a list of questions for them to answer. Our interview was more than 14 min long. It was wonderful to see where they work. I was sad that they didn't have any bee hives right there by their office, but that is understandable. I am so excited for the next step. On saturday, Sarah and I are going to be planting bee friendly flowers in a golf course here in Edina!
7/11/14
We visited a hive today at a friends farm. My family and I went out to see and experience a beehive. It was quite an adventure. My sister and I dressed up in the big bee suits and helped the beekeepers check the hive.
Check out Megan Carlson's Blog about her experience through her creative and beautiful website.
http://lightthroughglass.wordpress.com/2014/07/14/honeybees/
5/29/14
Today we interviewed Erin from Beez Kneez! She was so kind and welcoming to us! They do such amazing things there. Their main goals are to raise awareness for honey bees, teach others about bees and their importance and make and sell honey. We learned sooooo much from them! We talked to both Kristy, the founder of Beez Kneez, and Erin, the head educator. We had a list of questions for them to answer. Our interview was more than 14 min long. It was wonderful to see where they work. I was sad that they didn't have any bee hives right there by their office, but that is understandable. I am so excited for the next step. On saturday, Sarah and I are going to be planting bee friendly flowers in a golf course here in Edina!
10/26/13
Today we picked which organization and topic Sarah and I are going to do for this project. We decided to work with the Bees Kneez organization. They are an amazing group that wants to raise awareness for the honey bees. They are located in Minneapolis. They also have a program that delivers honey to customers. They ride bikes and dress up as bees. I think this is great. Such a great way to get attention for their organization. I am really excited to be able to work with them. They sound like such a real and local organization. I cant wait to be able to meet and talk with them to learn more about the honey bees and how they live.
2/6/14
Today we found out we will not be able to work with the Beez Kneez organization. Sadly they don't have any volunteer spots open at the moment. This is disappointing for us and we are sad we will not be able to work with them. However, Sarah and I have decided to branch off and do more advocacy by ourselves! We are very excited to be able to do this. We hope that we can make a difference in our community by advocating, raising awareness and researching honey bees right here in Edina.
4/22/14
Today Sarah and I went to experience our first city council meeting. We want to present there eventually, but want to get a feel for what it is like before we dive into presenting. I learned so much about local governments just by experiencing the steps of the meeting. First there was the call to order, then the review of the Agenda. There were so many steps int the process. Everything was so orderly and fast. They talked about many different subjects. From stop sign placement, to whether or not they could taper down an old house. I am nervous to present but I think it will be a good learning experience.
5/7/14
Today Sarah and I worked on research. She came over for a few hours. We learned so much! bees are amazing, they do so much for the earth and they work so hard. I feel so sad that they are being destroyed by chemicals and pesticides. I wish such dangerous things wouldn't be legal. They do nothing to help the earth, only kill plants and animals. Our next step is to present at the city council. We hope to change the law that prohibits beekeeping. I think that if people can own their own bee hives, the death rate of bees will go considerably down, especially here in Edina. Also, people will be more careful of what they put on their lawns so that the bees don't get poisoned.
5/15/14
Sarah and I are finally starting to work on our power point for the city council presentation. I feel nervous, not for talking so much, because we have an amazing presentation made, but just for what they will say. I cant imagine what it will be like. Will the council agree right on the spot to help the bees? Or will they just hear what we have to say and then move on? I hope they are nice to us. When we were there last time one person had been asking for a stop sign in a particular intersection. That was granted, but when another person later on asked about the same stop sign, they made them stop and go on.
So, working on the power point has been difficult. The research is confusing because there is so much of it and some of it is different each time. I do like learning more about this issue though. It is good to know exactly what we are advocating for and what started the death of bees in the first place. The thing I don't like about research, is how long it takes. We have spent over 5 hours just this week, learning about honey bees.
5/20/14
Tonight was amazing. We presented our case to the city council advocating bees. They loved us! Sarah and I were so scared to speak in front of so many Edina citizens and the whole city council, but it was fine after we got up there and started talking. They are so nice and were super welcoming. There was a guy that presented before us on the Speak Up Edina discussion. The discussion for May is on beekeeping. He did an ok job, but we presented a lot more information and our slide show was sooo much prettier. I think this had an amazing impact on the community and the mayor to rethink how they are treating bees here in Edina. Also, by attending and presenting, we show we actually care about the matter, which is true! If the mayor and the council know that we - the younger generation, and many others - care, they will realize its an important issue.
2/6/14
Today we found out we will not be able to work with the Beez Kneez organization. Sadly they don't have any volunteer spots open at the moment. This is disappointing for us and we are sad we will not be able to work with them. However, Sarah and I have decided to branch off and do more advocacy by ourselves! We are very excited to be able to do this. We hope that we can make a difference in our community by advocating, raising awareness and researching honey bees right here in Edina.
4/22/14
Today Sarah and I went to experience our first city council meeting. We want to present there eventually, but want to get a feel for what it is like before we dive into presenting. I learned so much about local governments just by experiencing the steps of the meeting. First there was the call to order, then the review of the Agenda. There were so many steps int the process. Everything was so orderly and fast. They talked about many different subjects. From stop sign placement, to whether or not they could taper down an old house. I am nervous to present but I think it will be a good learning experience.
5/7/14
Today Sarah and I worked on research. She came over for a few hours. We learned so much! bees are amazing, they do so much for the earth and they work so hard. I feel so sad that they are being destroyed by chemicals and pesticides. I wish such dangerous things wouldn't be legal. They do nothing to help the earth, only kill plants and animals. Our next step is to present at the city council. We hope to change the law that prohibits beekeeping. I think that if people can own their own bee hives, the death rate of bees will go considerably down, especially here in Edina. Also, people will be more careful of what they put on their lawns so that the bees don't get poisoned.
5/15/14
Sarah and I are finally starting to work on our power point for the city council presentation. I feel nervous, not for talking so much, because we have an amazing presentation made, but just for what they will say. I cant imagine what it will be like. Will the council agree right on the spot to help the bees? Or will they just hear what we have to say and then move on? I hope they are nice to us. When we were there last time one person had been asking for a stop sign in a particular intersection. That was granted, but when another person later on asked about the same stop sign, they made them stop and go on.
So, working on the power point has been difficult. The research is confusing because there is so much of it and some of it is different each time. I do like learning more about this issue though. It is good to know exactly what we are advocating for and what started the death of bees in the first place. The thing I don't like about research, is how long it takes. We have spent over 5 hours just this week, learning about honey bees.
5/20/14
Tonight was amazing. We presented our case to the city council advocating bees. They loved us! Sarah and I were so scared to speak in front of so many Edina citizens and the whole city council, but it was fine after we got up there and started talking. They are so nice and were super welcoming. There was a guy that presented before us on the Speak Up Edina discussion. The discussion for May is on beekeeping. He did an ok job, but we presented a lot more information and our slide show was sooo much prettier. I think this had an amazing impact on the community and the mayor to rethink how they are treating bees here in Edina. Also, by attending and presenting, we show we actually care about the matter, which is true! If the mayor and the council know that we - the younger generation, and many others - care, they will realize its an important issue.