By: Justyna Tomtas – The Tribune
“The program is doing phenomenal work, despite the challenges involved in shuffling between facilities to conduct complex bee research,” Christianson said.
Washington State University received a $1 million donation from Ken and Sue Christianson to help build a new 15,330-square-foot honey bee and pollinator research facility at its Pullman campus.
The new research facility is in the fundraising phase, having pulled in $3.5 million to date, according to the program’s website.
“A large proportion of seed crops rely on bees for pollination. The WSU bee program really resonated with both my wife and I because the work they do is so essential to the future of agriculture,” Ken Christianson, a retired seed grower, said in a news release. “The program is doing phenomenal work, despite the challenges involved in shuffling between facilities to conduct complex bee research.”
“The program is doing phenomenal work, despite the challenges involved in shuffling between facilities to conduct complex bee research,” Christianson said.
Currently, the program is spread between three locations that are as much as a half-mile apart. The $15 million building would help consolidate the program.
Plans include demonstration and rain gardens, where visitors can watch bees and researchers.
The building will be a state-of-the-art facility, according to Dean André-Denis Wright.
“The Christiansons 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,” Wright said. “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.”
Steve Sheppard, WSU entomology professor and the head of the university’s bee program, said when the facility is built, it will greatly increase the capacity to research honey bees and other pollinators.
“It’s really gratifying that the Christiansons see and understand the pioneering work that we are conducting,” Sheppard said.
The Christiansons are both WSU alumni.
