Inver Hills first in Minnesota certified as Bee Campus USA program affiliate
In 2019, Inver Hills Community College was the first educational institution in Minnesota and the 83rd in the United States certified as an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program. Randi Goettl, the college’s former director of accessibility resources, served as lead for a newly formed cross-departmental working group called The Bee’s Knee’s Committee, which was tasked with meeting the requirements of that certification.
Scott Klaehn and Rachel Marzahn
As a Bee Campus USA, Inver Hills is a proactive participant in a national movement of campuses committed to engaging in pollinator conservation. The college can contribute to affiliate network webinars that promote collaboration as well as teaching and learning opportunities. Randi and committee members championed efforts to improve the campus landscape for pollinators by creating a habitat plan and holding educational and awareness events on campus.
Today, Rachel Marzahn, interactive media coordinator for Inver Hills and Dakota County Technical College, and Scott Klaehn, registrar, also for both colleges, serve as co-chairs of The Bee’s Knees Committee.
Rachel reported that the committee currently has 14 members (with several new members on the horizon) made up of college faculty, staff, and students. “We can always use more members to help with projects and come up with ideas to create a more pollinator-friendly campus,” she said. “We could especially use people knowledgeable in policy and planting.”
“We know losing the community garden for a season is unfortunate for our garden plot users,” Rachel said. “We understand how gardening is an excellent way to promote self-care while offering a sense of purpose in times of stress. Even the smallest of yards can produce great garden beds.”
Rachel noted that The Bee’s Knees Committee has taken an innovative approach in the quest to continue fostering a positive pollinator climate at Inver Hills.
“We are working on planting pollinator pockets in other areas of campus,” she said. “We have several no-mow areas filled with native plants in the old baseball, softball, and soccer fields. The campus will also have a new space of roughly 3.5 acres starting behind the IT building—and we found another space on campus for a project we are most excited about—our new pollinator patio.”
Rachel explained that the new pollinator patio is located between the College Center and Library building. The project is now in phase three.
“We previously completed a winter-seeding project and later transplanted the seedlings in summer planter boxes,” she said. “In September, we will transplant our first native, pollinator-friendly plants in the ground. We partnered with Community-Based Learning (CBL) as well as the Facilities and Art departments on this project. Art students are creating signs out of ceramic tiles. Shannon Williams, CBL coordinator, and environmental interns helped lead the way with their passion for planting. Facilities has helped us with soil, planters, and logistics.”
Rachel pointed out that phase three does not complete the patio project.
“The hope is to continue building up the pollinator patio year after year by adding new plants each summer alongside the ones from the previous year until the whole space is thriving,” she said. “Since The Bee’s Knees Committee receives limited funding from the college, we hope to continue doing this work through campus partnerships and community grants.”
Inver Hills Bee Campus USA goals include:
Safeguarding and boosting pollinators on campus and in the community
Protecting and advancing the environment
Promoting sustainability through robust recycling programs
Improving eating habits
Supporting the economy
Collaborating to defend the survival of more than 200,000 pollinator species around the world
Pollinators are crucial to the planet’s complex food web
More than 150 food crops in the U.S. depend on pollinators
Raising community awareness on the following pollinator-related topics:
Dangers non-native invasive plants bring to local ecosystems
Least toxic ways to confront landscaping pest problems
Climate change
Sustainability
Environmental protection
Greener living
Complexity of the modern food industry global collective
Augmenting local food production through expanded pollination
Enhancing local plant nursery markets via increased demand for native, pollinator-friendly plants
The Bee’s Knees Committee projects gallery
Inver Hills Kick Off Resource Fair 2024
The Bee’s Knees Committee co-hosted a table with the Strategic Marketing and Communications department during the Kick Off Resource Fair on the campus mall Thursday afternoon, August 22, 2024.
Both groups promoted the importance of bees and their contributions to humankind and nature, creating awareness for the plight of pollinators while advocating for membership in The Bee’s Knees Committee and encouraging participation in committee projects.
NOTE: Rachel Marzahn reported that the Unity Trail is another initiative that started with The Bee’s Knees Committee, but has grown exponentially. While the committee is no longer involved in the planning and implementation of the project, the Unity Trail upholds a number of the committee’s target sustainability goals.
The Unity Trail will be a 5-mile loop along existing walkways in Inver Grove Heights. It will highlight the contributions of Dakota County’s diverse community. The project is a partnership of:
Dakota County Parks
Inver Hills Community College
ISD 199
City of Inver Grove Heights Parks and Recreation
Dakota County Library
The Unity Trail will honor and recognize the contributions of Indigenous, Black and communities of color. It will also emphasize the connection between racial equity, sustainability and environmental conservation.
The trail will connect the Mississippi River Greenway, libraries, schools and Inver Hills Community College to reach new and underrepresented users.
Funding for this project was provided through a Metropolitan Council grant, the City of Inver Grove Heights, Dakota County and the Dakota County Statewide Health Improvement Partnership.
The project has two parts
Interpretive trail
The project will create a trail that recognizes the contributions and experiences of Indigenous, Black and people of color. This will include seven interpretive points — three on the Mississippi River Greenway as well as points at Inver Hills Community College, Inver Grove Heights Community Center, Simley Island Park and Inver Glen Library. It will also include three bike-lending stations where trail visitors can use bikes free of charge. See project map.
Activities
The project includes activities that highlight themes of the Unity Trail. This includes opportunities for teachers to work together, educational materials and programs and events.
Timeline
September 2022–January 2023: Project initiation & community engagement February–December 2023: Planning January 2024–January 2025: Implementation March–May 2025: Project evaluation
Provide input: If you have any questions about this project, contact Anna Ferris at anna.ferris@co.dakota.mn.us.
The Bee’s Knees Committee: Upcoming 2024 activities and events
Monthly Meetings
WHEN: Second Tuesday of each month
2 p.m. – 3 p.m. WHERE: Online via Teams
Meetings are open to faculty, staff, students, and community members.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 10, 2024
2 p.m. – 3 p.m. WHERE: Pollinator Patio, Inver Hills Community College campus in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
Rachel reported that the first committee meeting takes place in person in the new, outdoor Pollinator Patio between the College Center and the Library.
“We will start with introductions, so we can get to know each other, followed by an open time to chat about our hopes for this year,” Rachel said. “Then we will plant the third phase of our Pollinator Patio, transplanting our winter and summer sprouted plants in the ground. We partnered with the Art Department to also install ceramic signs in the patio. Please bring gloves and small hand shovels. Feel free to bring classmates or coworkers who’ve expressed interest in joining the committee!”
Day of Service: Buckthorn Removal Service Project
WHEN: Friday, October 4, 2024
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. WHERE: Inver Hills Community College campus in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
Rachel reported that The Bee’s Knees Committee is partnering with the college’s Biology department to remove invasive buckthorn on campus. While harmless to humans, buckthorn is an invasive species that harms plants and pollinators. Removal with harsh chemicals also harms birds and bees, so we need to remove these by hand. We could use ‘all hands on deck’ to help reduce this hazard on our campus so our pollinators can thrive.
Sign up for this Day of Service project by contacting:
Bee Campus USA fosters ongoing dialogue to raise awareness of the role pollinators play in our communities and what each of us can do to provide them with healthy habitat.
The Bee Campus USA program endorses a set of commitments, defined in an application, for creating sustainable habitats for pollinators, which are vital to feeding the planet.
College students, faculty, administrators, and staff have long been among the nation’s most stalwart champions for sustainable environmental practices. That’s why our aim is for Bee Campus USA to become a national movement.
Bee Campus USA is a Xerces Society initiative. The Xerces Society is an international nonprofit organization that protects the planet by conserving insects and other invertebrates and their habitats. The society takes its name from the Xerces blue butterfly, Glaucopsyche xerces, the first butterfly known to go extinct in North America as a result of human activities.
Rachel Marzahn
Interactive Media Coordinator
Strategic Marketing & Communications
Inver Hills Community College
Dakota County Technical College RMarzahn@inverhills.edu
651-423-8615
In 2019, Inver Hills Community College was the first educational institution in Minnesota and the 83rd in the United States certified as an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program. Randi Goettl, the college’s former director of accessibility resources, served as lead for a newly formed cross-departmental working group called The Bee’s Knee’s Committee, which was tasked with meeting the requirements of that certification.
One mainstay of the committee’s activities, the Inver Hills Community Garden & Orchard, is inaccessible due to construction on the Technology & Business Center Renovation Project.
Rachel explained that the new pollinator patio is located between the College Center and Library building. The project is now in phase three.
Rachel pointed out that phase three does not complete the patio project.
