Colony

A CROWD SOURCING APP to Boost Human & Bee Relations.

This platform is intended to connect beekeepers to a network of fellow beekeepers in their area through publicly tracking hive activity on a map and focused discussion boards. It’s about Beekeepers supporting each other so that they can support their bees and the environment.

Full Process Book

As someone who grew up Beekeeping with my father, I have seen first hand how this craft is an endangered practice. The demographics for Beekeepers continues to gets older and therefore less accessible to the next generation. However, bees’ importance to the world is only going to increase as humans face the environmental crisis that is the possibility of their extinction.

*Photos of Matthew Birkley & photography by Libby Birkley.

Defining the Problem

- Allow keepers to report problems/activity in their hives quickly and easily on a public map.
- Have map be an accessible way for other keepers to browse activity and spot trends in their area, then directly comment or interact with others’ reports.
- Connect beekeeping communities through focused discussion boards that they can easy browse and then join.
- Make Beekeeping and Bees more approachable and accessible to younger generations.
- Open a line of communication between seasoned beekeepers and new Beekeepers or hobbyists.
- Make a platform to start larger conversations about the environmental, political, and social importance of bees.