World wide effects boil down to local issues: Milwaukee’s step to “Bee the Change.”
Milwaukee is taking a huge step at helping stop the extinction of bees one city at a time.
Charlie Koenen, known as Milwaukee’s “Bee Guy,” is spearheading this movement. Milwaukee River Currents, a local news outlet, is helping Charlie spread his story across the city streets. Charlie told journalist Lee Godowsky, “I finally got interested in bees in 2002, and I really just bumbled-stumbled into it.”
Charlie, a Milwaukee Native, has an interesting story that led him into beekeeping. He graduated college from UWM studying graphic arts and design. From there he helped design the Macintosh+ computer at Apple and started his own IT business with a whole new desktop solutions company 3rd Millennium Design (3MD).
“What happened next not only reinspired Charlie, but offered him a unique opportunity to apply the “Think Different” approach from Apple to beekeeping.” –Lee Gutowski
Charlie’s bee fascination started off as a hobby, but eventually bloomed into something much greater. Charlie runs his very own beekeeping farm, on top off educating other Milwaukee folks on bees, their history, and the overarching issue.
I got the opportunity to attend one of Charlie’s educational “Bee the Change” events at Marquette University through the program Soup with a Substance. There, Charlie spoke about the importance of urban beekeeping, and encouraged us to get involved in the cause. He told the story of bees and their risk of extinction, but he also persuaded each and everyone of his audience members to play a part in saving the bees and supporting our community ecosystem.
Charlie told us about how bees are the most important insect on our planet because they pollinate a large portion of food. Without food, flowers and bees our lives and the environment will be greatly effected negatively.
The urgent crisis and ripple effect of bees dying around the world is being caused by several different forces.
Modern practices of poor agriculture and the media hiding the reality of our ecosystem is just the top of a long list of reasons why the bees are struggling for survival.
Charlie stated that the first step to making a change and helping stop the bees from becoming extinct is identifying the problem. The educational event ended with Charlie telling us about his four main purpose for doing what he does everyday. These four reasons are: pollination, education, medicine, and honey.
Charlie’s presentation at Marquette is what first got me intrigued with the bees. After hearing him speak I plan to go visit the top of Redeemer Lutheran Church and meet them myself!
Needless to say, Charlie is an interesting man. His passion was exemplified in CBS58 News video made by Marquette students on his great work in the community. Koenen states within, “So when I looked inside a beehive for the first time, I saw the collaboration, cooperation, and the abundance of productivity that happens when many hands make light of work. We see this with the bees.”
Charlie has positively impacted Milwaukee and the beekeeping community.
He has contributed a new beehive design that he uses at his farm. What makes Charlie’s design special is that it allows anyone the ability to pull out a couple hundred bees without causing any commotion or harm. Because of his awesome invention anyone can visit Charlie at Redeemer to meet the bees and watch their “beehavior.” Who wants to go meet the bees with me?
