About VIVE

Vive is an interrelated beekeeping service and beehive, harmonious in purpose and form, which aims to educate new beekeepers and close gaps between knowledge and application. Humans rely on bees to pollinate 70 % of the staple crops that provide 90 % of the world’s food. Unfortunately, the populations of wild and domestic honey bees have drastically decreased within the past three decades, due to pollution, disease, pesticides, and natural habitat loss. This decrease could contribute to a potential loss of fruits and vegetables that are vital to the human diet. Vive demonstrates the connection between bee health and food supply while informing users about the environmental concerns associated with bee population loss. This beekeeping system increases awareness among Vive users, in the hope of generating greater action toward environmental efforts on all fronts. Vive is a proactive effort to educate people about the ecological impact of bees and to encourage colony populations to thrive. Designed with beginner hobbyist beekeepers in mind and modeled after the Langstroth beehive style, the nucleus of this beekeeping system is the Vive Hive. Aspiring beekeepers purchase the beehive and begin a one-year membership with Vive to connect with a mentor and learn to keep bees. Vive members can monitor their bee colony, schedule appointments with mentors, and receive new information through the Vive App. The hive component of the Vive system is currently in use at the Stratford Ecological Center apiary in Delaware, Ohio. Bees thrive in this hive, achieving my goal of creating a project that would be useful, usable, and beautiful. Stratford Ecological Center conducts a standards-based life sciences program, “Messages from the Earth,” for fifth-grade classes in three surrounding school districts. The Vive Hive aids in educating 7,000-10,000 students per year about the importance of bees in our ecosystem.