Cougars Working To Keep Bees Around

Thanks to a recent $1 million donation, researchers at Washington State University can continue efforts to help the honey bee remain strong and active.  The WSU Honey Bee and Pollinator Research Facility in Pullman recently received the gift from Ken and Sue Christianson.  Ken, a retired seed grower says the WSU program has resonated with him and his wife, because “work they do is so essential to the future of agriculture.”

Both Ken and Sue are WSU alumni, he with an agronomy degree and she with a food science degree.

The new research facility is still in the fundraising phase, with a goal of raising $15 million.

“It’s really gratifying that the Christianson’s see and understand the pioneering work that we are conducting,” said Steve Sheppard, WSU entomology professor and the head of the WSU bee program. “When we are able to build this facility, we will greatly increase our capacity to conduct research on honey bees and other pollinators at WSU.”

Ken Christianson said he and Sue heard about the program when they took a tour of the current facilities, spread around three different locations up to half a mile apart.

“The program is doing phenomenal work, despite the challenges involved in shuffling between facilities to conduct complex bee research,” Christianson said.

“The Christianson’s are building a lasting legacy to the future of agriculture by getting us one step closer to the creation of a top-flight WSU pollinator center. The world’s food supply is in grave danger without a healthy pollinator population and we need the center to help save bees around the world,” stressed Dean André-Denis Wright. “Once constructed, this state-of-the-art facility will enable WSU’s excellent pollinator research program to be on the leading edge of innovation and discovery in a field of study that affects everybody around the globe.”

To learn more about the WSU honey bee and pollinator program visit WSU's Website.

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