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The Georgia Tech Urban Honey Bee Project is a unique interdisciplinary undergraduate research and education program focused on the impact of urban habitats on honey bees.  Our hives are located on the roofs of the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons and the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design on the Georgia Tech campus in midtown Atlanta, Georgia.

For more information or to get involved, email Jennifer Leavey, Integrated Science Curriculum Coordinator, Georgia Tech College of Sciences at jennifer.leavey@cos.gatech.edu .

The purpose of the Georgia Tech Urban Honey Bee Project is to:

To advance our understanding of how urbanization affects honeybees….

City planners and designers are increasingly incorporating sustainable food systems into urban architectural projects and developments, calling into question the suitability of these environments for food production. One factor affecting crop yield in urban gardens is the availability of animal pollinators. Bees function as pollinators for most food crops and are also exceptional model organisms for understanding complex biological systems.  Unfortunately, bee populations are threatened by pesticide use, habitat fragmentation, and disease.  A greater understanding of honeybees would be of great ecological, economic, and academic interest.

In keeping with the goals of the strategic plan of Georgia Tech…

The Urban Honeybee Project incorporates the spirit and goals of the Georgia Tech's strategic plan by providing for innovative instruction and course design using an interdisciplinary model system. The project is collaborative and expands on existing strong research and educational programs currently in place at Georgia Tech.

To enrich the student experience.

We hope that the Georgia Tech urban honey bee project will (1) increase student engagement and involvement in introductory science courses by demonstrating the economic and social relevance of research, (2) increase interaction between faculty and students of different academic units (3) increase interaction with a wide variety of community partners through outreach activities, and, of course, (4) increase school spirit by rallying the campus around relatives of our Yellow Jackets!

 

Georgia Tech is a proud member of Bee Campus USA!

Bee Campus USA is a program that fosters the well-being of pollinators on college campuses and educates the public in practices that could improve their environment. This summer, be on the lookout for the strides that the Georgia Tech urban honey bee project will be making to create an atmosphere conducive to the survival of pollinators, including a campus pollinator habitat plan and signage around campus for pollinator-friendly plant species!