By: Tyler Dudenas Summary: Detroit has faced a big problem in recent years in which they are unable to consistently bring in investors and developers to help fill the massive amount of vacant lots that litter the city. In an effort to increase to populate these urban eye sores, Detroit was offering prices for them at a cut cost for non profit organizations. This allowed Timothy Paule, Nicole Lindsey, and Keith Crispen to start their very own non profit organization, Detroit Hives, in an effort to not only help revitalize the city of Detroit, but also to spread awareness about bees. Located on Detroit’s east side, Detroit Hives has managed to take in nine vacant lots for their new honey making and bee saving operation. Vacant lots plague Detroit with over 90,000 spread across the city. These lots are an eye sore, and can be dangerous to children. On top of that, vacant lots are frankly an eye sore and finding a way to make use of them can do wonders for the community. Although 9 out of 90,000 may not seem like a big contribution, the workers in Detroit Hives do make a difference, as they are able to educate the public, continue to fill up lots, and even allow for gardens to grow in their lot as well which allows for more green instead of abandoned lots. With expansion on their mind, we soon may see more and more bee lots popping up across the city. While the areas directly surrounding Wayne State’s campus are usually nice, Detroit still needs much improvement as many people live under the poverty line. Allowing non profit organizations to come and try to breathe fresh air into the city is great. It allows for fresh honey to be sold and knowing it is local makes it feel a lot better because it allows us to help people around the city to continue to try to make a difference and improve our city. I think it is imperative that we continue to push for the development of these vacant lots through local non profit organizations, so we can continue to improve the city from within. I love to think about what the communities of Detroit might look like if we continue to push for more community enrichment through these lots. With 90,000 vacant lots, we aren’t lacking in sites to try to build on, so we should encourage small organizations like Detroit Hives for trying to better our communities Why we should care? We should care about this topic because it is not only in regards to environmental health and improvement, but it also hits home as it takes us into the lives of people from Detroit, the city of our College. Example News Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/09/18/detroit-has-thousands-vacant-lots-heres-why-some-are-becoming-honeybee-farms/ I thought this was a great article because it shows small changes that can be done to help better the city of Detroit. This is just a group of three people and they are making waves on plenty of news sites because it is so encouraging to see locals from Detroit take a step towards making their community beautiful. Detroit Hives is also interested in expanding the amount of lots they have as well. It is just amazing that a small group of people can have a great influence on the city and also inspire others to be a good influence as well. Science in Action.
Eugenia South, MD, MSHP is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In this article by South, it was found that turning vacant urban lots into a green lot can have a big effect on mental health. The study found that there is over a 40% drop in feelings of depression and over a 60% drop for self reported poor mental health. This is extremely great news in regards to the blog topic, as we learned that Detroit Hives is not only turning abandoned lots into bee farms, but it also is allowing their lots to be transformed into gardens as well. If Detroit continues to see more bee farms and gardens taking place instead of vacant lots, there might be a big change in mental health among community members that are close to these lots. Starting a bee farm might seem a minuscule change in the community, but in truth it also brings beauty, education, and improved mental health as well.
6 Comments
Supriya Gupta
11/24/2019 14:06:05
I had no idea that Detroit had so many vacant lots and that they were offering to non-profits at a lower price! Detroit Hives is an amazing example of a non-profit that can encourage people to be involved in their community, lower crime, and help bring the city and its people up. They can inspire other non-profits to do the same, starting urban gardens, green spaces, and other eco-friendly ventures that can involve the local community. This shows how taking care of our environment is good for Detroit. Loved this; probably my favourite blog post yet!
Reply
Courtney Sheikh
11/26/2019 23:50:17
I was lucky enough to meet Timothy and Nicole in another class of mine. They happened to start Detroit Hives when Timothy once came across raw honey which cured him from a cold he had. When he was talking about it he makes it known that it was mistake coming across the honey but they do love the thing that they started. It is also a great thing seeing the vacant lots being turned into something better!!!
Reply
Nicole Gacki
12/1/2019 13:12:16
I think this is a great idea. Bees can do so many amazing things for our environment that soo many people dont even realize. The Detroit hives foundation is doing amazing work without bees the world would turn into one giant eye sore as you said and we would have barley any education. I really enjoyed that you took a topic that hits home right here in Detroit I had no idea that the Detroit hives was even a thing. Thanks for the great read.
Reply
Rahima T
12/3/2019 08:43:27
I knew Detroit had many vacant lots but I did not know Detroit was offering non profit organizations cut costs prices. This is helpful and is a good start for changing these lots into spaces of use. I have not heard of Detroit Hives before but I think they are doing great work. Its cool that there is a local bee industry nearby. I have a slight fear of bees but my mom loves honey so might have to get some from Detroit Hives to support these local businesses and nonprofits. I hear a lot about “save the bees” because they play a big role in pollination, and it is great to see local action taking place and trying to “save the bees” while helping improve the community.
Reply
Lee Simmons
12/3/2019 09:30:52
In early September I went to a Detroit city council meeting for a school project of mine. Right at the start of the meeting Andre Spivey, a city council member announced that they were awarding the "Spirit of Detroit" award to a local non-profit. Reading your post reminded me that the non-profit who received the award was Detroit Hives! Timothy and Nicole were there along with their young daughter, and they all seem like very lovely people.
Reply
Madalyn Wesner
12/16/2019 20:49:07
Id first like to start with the fact that I love your title, I thought it was clever. As for the post I thought it was really cool to see that Detroit is doing something to help spread awareness about the importance of bees. All while cleaning up the city and improving air quality. I will definitely be looking into Detroit Hives!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorStudents of ESG 1500 Archives
December 2021
Categories |