Original Objective

When I first developed the internship this was the write-up:

Throughout a 10-week period the assignment is to place bee hives throughout Wayne County, West Virginia in areas that are in need of increased pollination. Over the past fifty years over-exploitation of natural resources have caused destruction of the habitats of many species essential to the livelihood of forests. In this study we will be focusing on the Honey bee. The goal is to successfully place 10 hives; a pair of hives in 5 different locations throughout the county.

Trees do not need bees for their own reproduction however, they do need them for the whole regeneration of the ecosystem around them. The more seed generation in an ecosystem the greater its diversity and life carrying capacity. Placing bee hives in needed areas will increase pollination and further the ecosystem’s chance of sustainability. It is my intention to educate families in the community of the importance of this work and how beekeeping can be a gateway to a thriving community.

After just a couple weeks of working the internship life changed.....

World-Wide Health Pandemic of COVID-19

"Stay at Home Order" was placed throughout the entire world including West Virginia and Kentucky. Businesses closed, schools were shutdown, and a lot people lost employment. An economic crisis took over and changed the entire idea of this internship.

I thought looking into destroyed ecosystems and learning how to nurture them to grow is what the community needed, after being shocked by COVID-19 it was apparent that the people were in need of something much different. Looking for funding for bee hives was not an essential step in progressing the community and it would have proven to be extremely tone deaf to ignore the health crisis and continue with this plan.

All About the Internship This page is part of the collection 'Spring Internship of 2020 '.

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