Elizabeth Ervin & Shahinda Mohamed | Midwestern Bee Migration

Midwestern Bee Migration

S S S

D D D

LA N BABLAAL BNACN ECE CE Y Y Y

H WIT H WITH WIT

BKEBEEKEK SIEESE ESIEB I F F F

AND AND AND

PROSPE PROSPE PROSPE

YITOYH NEOHNOENE TYITH I R R R

GROWS Y GROWS Y ROWS G Y

T T TH H H L EAELALEAA NAN AN WW W

EMPLIF X E EMPLI EX MP F E LIF X E

NA T NA NAT T

BSEBEESES E RB EREEE R U UU

T T O E C PRPORTO PER TCTECT T T T

SU SUI I SU I

PER E E PER EE ER P E E U N I UN UNI I

The Beekeeper Suit originated in the early days of the Fairfields Church as a way to differentiate the faithful from the masses. The suit serves both as symbol and as a utilitarian object, worn as ceremonial garb on high holy days and as work wear more generally. The full body covering offers protection, both from bees and the unpredictable climate.

The New Midwest has been known as the land of Milk and Honey, where the people can find wealth and prosperity.

As desertification takes over the fields and farmland in California and the West, the Midwest region, always agricultural,

takes on a new role as the main provider for the rest of the country. Beekeeping and the honey that is produced is one example of this.

Bees are highly in tune with their environment and are more sensitive to changes in their ecosystem. When the shifts in climate began, members of the Fairfields Church realized the peril and took on apiculture as their mission.

By elevating and celebrating bees, it is ensured that the people of the New Midwest will act as stewards for the region.

Life of an Itinerant Beekeeper Follow Migratory Beekeeper Luc and his family along their annual route from Minnesota to Southern California

Luc Thierry and his family are embarking on their yearly pilgrimage, following a decades old rout that takes them on a tour of the western United States.

“Some Beekeepers make the trek solo, but Luc is in good company.”

Some beekeepers make the trek solo, but Luc in in good company. The route is taken by a number of beekeepers together, as they make camp and share resources.

“It’s like a big family,“ Luc says, adding that his kids have a lot of friends in the other groups that they spend time with.

Beekeepers play an important role to

“Beekeepers play an important role to farmers, and their arrival is greeted warmly in the local communities.”

farmers, and are always greeted warmly in the local communities. The arrival of the bees means that their crops are sure to be pollinated and the harvests will be

When on the move, Luc and his family stay in tents inspired by the traditional structures used by the Fairfields Church. Although the tents have become more secular and lost their religious

connection to the tent revival of the 2060s, they are still an important symbol of the culture of the New Midwest.

Besides the family dwelling inhabited by Luc and his family, community tents are

“It’s hard for Luc to watch what was once prosperous farmland turn to dust, worsening year after year.” northern forest means that beekeepers must traveler farther distances to provide the pollination crops needed by their bees.

The trip is not always easy, however.

Their route takes them through parts of the West that used to be lush and green.

It’s hard for Luc to watch what was once prosperous farmland turn to dust, worsening year after year.

As the biomes shift, the grasslands of the Great Plains are overtaken by desertification, and the retreat of the

Farming in the Age of Bees Meet Anton Ernst , a third generation farmer in Oregon, who cultivates the family land and maintains a near-by Road Stop

Anton Ernst’s family has been growing broccoli for generations in Eastern Oregon. Luc Thierry and his family are embarking on their yearly pilgrimage, following a decades old rout that takes them on a tour of the western United States.

“This is my favorite time of year to be in the Midwest“ Luc notes as he surveys his hives and the surrounding fields.

However, soon Luc and his family will be leaving their land in Minnesota as Autumn begins to set in. In Order to maximize honey production, beekeepers

“Anton hopes to go on a pilgrimage one day soon, having grown up on stories of his father’s journey.”

“The Ernst family also maintains the stretch of the migration route near their farm.” must keep their hives on the move if they wish to achieve the most number of honey harvests possible in a year. This means making the trek from the New Midwest in the Summer, to California or Florida in the Winter, and back up to Oregon or the Heartland in the Spring, before heading home to do it all over again.

Luc is lucky because his family follows him in his journey. “We’re a team.“ says his wife Hannah. “And I don’t miss those harsh Northern Winters,“ she adds.

In the Footsteps of a Pilgrim Amanda Masto is embarking on her first pilgrimage, joining a record number of young people making the trek this year

Amanda Masto is excited to reunite with Thierry and his family, who are embarking on their yearly pilgrimage, following a decades old rout that takes them on a tour of the western United States.

“This is my favorite time of year to be in the Midwest“ Luc notes as he surveys his hives and the surrounding fields.

However, soon Luc and his family will be leaving their land in Minnesota as Autumn

begins to set in. In Order to maximize honey production, beekeepers must keep their hives on the move if they wish to achieve the most number of honey harvests possible in a year. This means making the trek from the New Midwest in the Summer, to California or Florida in the Winter, and back up to Oregon or the Heartland in the Spring, before heading home to do it all over again.

Luc is lucky because his family follows him in his journey. “We’re a team.“ says his wife Hannah. “And I don’t miss those harsh Northern Winters,“ she adds.

“Fresh out of high school, Amanda is taking a gap year to see the country.”

Some beekeepers make the trek solo, but Luc in in good company. The route is taken by a number of beekeepers together, as they make camp and share

resources. “It’s like a big family,“ Luc says, adding that his kids have a lot of friends in the other groups that they spend time with. Beekeepers play an

“A pilgrim might only go on this journey once in their life, returning home and re-entering a stationary society.”

and the harvests will be abundant.

Stopping to make camp in communities along the highways and interstates they traverse also attracts business to

APPROACH

SLEEPING PODS

HALL OF BOOKS

SPACE OF OBSERVANCE

ARCHIVE

BASEMENT

8Vb

10Hc

2Va 9Hc 5Vb 7Vc

2Vb

Figure 1

inter-tube connection

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a 3Vb

Figure 3: Apian Network The hive will move from one monument to the next along their migration route, leaving behind the honey they have cultivated. Humans are then able to ‘tap‘ the statue, with a spigot similar to that used in the harvesting of maple syrup.

4Hb

e n 1Va

honey tap

Figure 2

Figure 4: Open-End Air Column The monuments produce their sound by vibrating a column of air inside of a tube.

The compression of the wind in the tube forms a standing wave pattern, and the amount of time it takes for one compression to travel the tube will determine its frequency.

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Sepulcher Mountain, Montana 45.0319° N, 110.7058° W

Boundary Creek, Idaho 44.5314° N, 115.2931° W

Mallard Lake, Wyoming 44.4784° N, 110.7756° W

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Pilgrim Brook Ward | 19 | Springfield, IL Pilgrim Aimie Tait | 22 | Chicago, IL

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Pilgrim Hamza Yusuf | 17 | Columbus, OH

Pilgrim Sonya Proctor | 20 | Flagstaff, AZ

Beekeeper Vivian Le | 37 | San Francisco, CA

9:00 AM Mallard Lake, Wyoming 44.4784° N, 110.7756° W

Swarm ID Population Distance Traveled Honey Production

10A79b0 12560 4251 mi 76%

Viscosity Tempurature Volume Moisture Content

3.92 Pa S 20 °C 1502.6 ml 19.10%

Beekeeper Pina Vance | 29 | Savannah, GA

Beekeeper Adam Juarez | 43 | Reno, NV

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11

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Pilgrim Magdalena Graciela | 19 | Ithica, NY

Pilgrim Michael Rivera | 24 | Santa Fe, NM Pilgrim Maria Rivera | 20 | Santa Fe, NM

Swarm 10A79b0

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Pilgrim Hamza Yusuf | 17 | Columbus, OH

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Pilgrim Brook Ward | 19 | Springfield, IL Beekeeper Pina Vance | 29 | Savannah, GA

Pilgrim Michael Rivera | 24 | Santa Fe, NM Pilgrim Sonya Proctor | 20 | Flagstaff, AZ

4:00 PM Mallard Lake, Wyoming 44.4784° N, 110.7756° W

Swarm ID Population Distance Traveled Honey Production

10A79b0 12559 4258 mi 62%

Beekeeper Adam Juarez | 43 | Reno, NV

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Viscosity Tempurature Volume Moisture Content ng

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7.66 Pa S 16 °C 1425.75 ml 17.86%

53

2”

Pilgrim Magdalena Graciela | 19 | Ithica, NY Pilgrim Brain Raul | 20 | Columbus, IN

Pilgrim Maria Rivera | 20 | Santa Fe, NM

A Delicate Ecosytem in Balance As the biomes shift, the grasslands of the Great Plains are overtaken by desertification, and the retreat of the northern forest means that beekeepers

must traveler farther distances to provide the pollination crops needed by their bees.

The eastern beekeepers are struggling

“By elevating and celebrating bees, the people of the New Midwest act as stewards for the natural world, keeping the havoc of climate disasters at bay.”

with similar issues. The expansion of the prarie eastward is disrupting their own migration route, and the Grass Belt cutting off Florida from the rest of the temperate forests means that every year they have to travel further south

When on the move, Luc and his family stay in tents inspired by the traditional structures used by the Fairfields Church. Although the tents have become more secular and lost their religious connection to the tent revival of the 2060s, they are still an important symbol of the culture of the New Midwest.

A number of beekeepers together, as

they make camp and share resources.

“It’s like a big family,“ Luc says, adding that his kids have a lot of friends in the other groups that they spend time with.

Beekeepers play an important role to farmers.

“This is my favorite time of year to be in the Midwest“ Luc notes as he surveys his hives and the surrounding fields.

However, soon Luc and his family will be leaving their land in Minnesota as Autumn begins to set in. In Order to maximize honey production, beekeepers must keep their hives on the move if they wish to achieve the most number of honey harvests possible in a year. This means making the trek from the New Midwest in the Summer, to California or Florida in the Winter, and back up to Oregon or the Heartland in the Spring, before heading home to do it all over again.

Luc is lucky because his family follows him in his journey. “We’re a team.“ says his wife Hannah. “And I don’t miss those harsh Northern Winters,“ she adds.

Some beekeepers make the trek solo, but Luc in in good company. Beekeepers

play an important role to farmers, and are always greeted warmly in the local communities. The arrival of the bees means that their crops are sure to be pollinated and the harvests will be abundant.