Bees at RW Norton Art Foundation, Shreveport; why shouldn't Magnet have bee hives, too?

Bees at Norton, Shreveport
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Gepgraphy students, let's explore a plan to contact Hummer & Sons, local beekeepers, to add hives to the Magnet campus.

Are you aware of the precipitous loss of bees across the country?


"The decline in the US bee population, first observed in 2006, is continuing, a phenomenon that still baffles researchers and beekeepers.

Data from the US Department of Agriculture show a 29 percent drop in beehives in 2009, following a 36 percent decline in 2008 and a 32 percent fall in 2007.

This affects not only honey production but around 15 billion dollars worth of crops that depend on bees for pollination.

Scientists call the phenomenon "colony collapse disorder" that has led to the disappearance of millions of adult bees and beehives and occurred elsewhere in the world including in Europe.

Researchers have looked at viruses, parasites, insecticides, malnutrition and other environmental factors but have been unable to pinpoint a specific cause for the population decline," says breitbart.com.