Minds

Pollinating
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Fundraising Prospectus 2022-23
2 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus 1

Table of Wooden beehives with active

honeybees were transported

Contents
to a lavender ranch to
pollinate crops.

Welcome to rural Northern

California, where there is beauty Need for Change .........................................................................................................2
and order in nature. Breathtaking The Key to Change.................................................................................................... 3
countryside. Blooming orchards. Background .................................................................................................................. 4
Generational farms steeped in Future Plans .................................................................................................................7
American history. Fundraising ................................................................................................................ 15
Naming Opportunities...........................................................................................17

And a quiet hero that makes it Financials ...................................................................................................................19

all possible. Leadership ................................................................................................................. 20

The honeybee and other

pollinators give us many of the
freshly grown foods we rely on to
survive. In fact, we can thank this
little overachiever for one-third of
all the food we eat.

Honeybees have a far-reaching

impact on our food security, but
the tiny world of honeybees is
a mystery to many people who
take for granted what these small
insects do for our planet. We
can make a positive impact by
advancing the public’s awareness
and understanding of honeybees,
pollination, and their importance
to the environment and our food
MITCHELL YERXA PHOTOGRAPHY

supply.
2 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus 3

The Need The Key

for Change to Change

MITCHELL YERXA PHOTOGRAPHY

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California farmers With its freshly grown food delivered • Increases in CO2 emissions can Introducing the Honeybee The Honeybee Discovery Center has
feed the world. to farmer’s markets and grocery decrease the protein content of Discovery Center, currently located big plans and envisions an exciting
stores across the U.S. and an annual plants, some of which are used by in the Queen Bee Capital of Orland, and informative place in California’s
It’s no surprise that agriculture is worldwide export market of more than honeybees as a food source. California, where we are passionate heartland to engage people about this
the number one industry driving $11.3 billion in food and commodities, about spreading the word about the fascinating and urgent topic.
the Golden State’s robust economy. you’ll likely eat something from • Years of drought in the western vital role of pollinators in our food
According to data from the California California today. U.S. has impacted the water supply, supply and the world.
Department of Food and Agriculture, affecting farmer’s ability to plant and
California farmers: Yet, this delicate cycle is increasingly grow the abundance of food needed Nestled in this quaint farming
threatened. for a healthy bee population. community about 90 miles north of
• Produce more than one-third of the Sacramento, beekeepers have been
country’s vegetables. For generations, farmers—with the • The increase of urbanization has nurturing colonies of bees and grafting
help of honeybees—have turned reduced the greater variety of flowers queen bees for more than 100 years.
• Produce two-thirds of the state’s water into food. A 2020 study showed and trees that provide food for the The Honeybee Discovery Center was
fruits and nuts. a 46 percent decline in some North bees. conceived as a place to bring the secret
American bee populations. This decline life of bees to thousands of visitors—
• Manage more dairy cows than any is the result of many factors: • As more concrete heats up our preserving beekeeping history and
other U.S. state. earth’s surface, honeybees continue protecting pollinators for generations
• Climate change significantly to lose their natural habitat. The to come.
• Produce 80 percent of the world’s contributes to stressors affecting need for education, awareness, and
almonds. honeybees and other pollinators. understanding about saving the bees
is critical to their survival—and ours.
• Produce one-third of the world’s
processed tomatoes.
4 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus 5

Our Mission

The Honeybee Discovery Center’s

mission is to advance the public’s Left: Young honeybee innovators
Yvonne and Bob Koehnen; Below:

History
Bob Koehnen working honeybees

understanding of honeybees and in an almond orchard.

to create and promote a culture of

bee awareness.
Who We Are

Housed in a historic building in Currently, the center is open at this The Northern California agricultural
downtown Orland, California, the small, temporary site. It offers an area is excellent for queen bee rearing,
current temporary location was interactive exhibition gallery and with tens of thousands of queen bees
established as a non-profit educational learning space to educate the public, produced annually. Orland branded
institution in 2018. It opened at 501 private groups such as horticulture and itself as the Queen Bee Capital of North
Walker Street in 2019 to teach the gardening clubs, and school field trips. America to emphasize its connection
public about honeybees and the rich to beekeeping and the production of
history of beekeeping in Northern Our organization would not exist if it queen bees. Nearly 80 percent of the
California and includes the center’s weren’t for the dedicated beekeepers queen bees produced in the United
administrative offices. and their families who have recognized States are raised in Butte, Glenn,
how important the center is to their Shasta, Yuba, and Tehama counties.
Development and fundraising industry. The future center will build Orland is also the 40th “Bee City, USA,”
are underway for constructing an on our efforts with a much larger scale with a commitment to creating greater
innovative discovery center that facility that will be a reliable resource awareness about the need for an
includes: to both growers and beekeepers, environment that protects honeybees In 1962, Yvonne Millar married a For more than 55 years, Yvonne One of Yvonne’s projects was creating
providing them with the latest research and other pollinators. beekeeper, Bob Koehnen, who lived Koehnen was involved in springtime a beekeeping display for the Chico
• Pollinator gardens and innovative bee-safe farming eight miles up the road in Glenn, sales and packaging bees and Museum in 2009. Her exhibit about
• Dedicated, changing exhibition practices. California, and so began her life queens. A graduate of California State bees had the highest attendance the
gallery and love of honeybees. University, Chico, she was a teacher by Chico Museum has ever seen. After the
• Hands-on interactive learning space trade, but also an innovator. She built opening, she visited many offices and
• An enclosed atrium She, too, worked in the family business, prototypes of various sizes of shipping local elementary schools in Butte and
• Outdoor learning space and together they raised their sons boxes, inspired by the Rossman Glenn Counties, inviting the public to
• Class and meeting rooms Kalin and Kamron, who currently container to fit the new cages. She see and learn about bees.
• Community activities and events oversee the orchards and apiaries found that 160 small cells fit into a box
operations for C.F. Koehnen & Sons. that previously held 104 larger cages. This educational work inspired Yvonne
She and Bob Koehnen also invented to create a bee museum and pay
Core Values In 2022, the Koehnen family celebrates the California Mini Queen Cage, a small homage to her family and the legacy of
117 years since their first beehive. vessel that safely holds an individual her husband, Bob.
The core values of the Honeybee Discovery Center motivate us and drive our activities. queen bee for shipping from breeders
Bob Koehnen was the second born to beekeepers. After years of fundraising and
Education is the first; we Integrity is interwoven Sustainability is critical; Collaboration with friends son to C.F. Koehnen. He was known as continued education, a dedicated
seek to educate the public in all we do; we are the survival of honeybees and partner organizations an innovator and agriculturalist. In an Yvonne is very passionate about bees group of volunteers formed who are
about the importance of determined to educate is directly linked to is necessary for the synergy article for Bee Culture, Marla Spivak and sharing the importance of bees leading the vision for the center today.
honeybees to humankind. others with only accurate understanding that we required to meet the goal of of the University of Minnesota called with the public. She has been an active
and factual information. must be committed building the new center. him “inspired—unique in that he was member of the California Beekeepers
to stewardship of the an inventor who strove to make bee Association for many years.
environment. management more efficient.”
6 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus 7

Below: Bob and his brother Bill shaking bees for a packaged bee
shipment; At Right: Yvonne Koehnen holds a California mini queen
Future
Plans
cage used to transport a queen bee for shipment. Developed by
her husband Bob, the cages remain a standard in the industry.

Bob Koehnen was a master inventor.

He hired Galen Jantzen to work in the
Koehnen’s shop in 1974.

Jantzen helped Bob build out his

visions. In the early 1990s, Jantzen
built a production machine for the mini
cages. C.F. Koehnen & Sons have been
producing queen cages for 45 years
and now ship 1.25 million mini cages
annually throughout the U.S.

Together, Bob and Jantzen:

• Perfected an assembly-line system

for making queen-mating nuclei,
synchronizing each step of an
impressively large operation.

• Devised an early machine to fill

syrup into package feeding cans
automatically.

Knowledgeable docents and As founders Yvonne and Bob are deeply • Invented the California mini queen
beekeepers give presentations in committed to raising awareness and cage, which remains a standard.
the center and off-site locations like increasing knowledge about the critical
classrooms, community events, and role and importance of honeybees • Developed the larger Wen-Koe queen
for local educational programs. The and other pollinators and their ties to cages. They were built with a machine,
goal is to preserve beekeeping artifacts agricultural practices, the maintenance commissioned by an engineer, that
that are part of a 100-year history in of global food production, and the adapted technology from door
Northern California. environment. construction to apply the screens.

• Created an ingenious mechanism for

cutting queen cells apart when they
come out of the cell builder.

• Produced a towable bee-moving

forklift with four forks to move four
pallets of colonies simultaneously,
then spread the pallets apart,
allowing them to move 1,000
colonies per day.

• Developed the bank-out unloading The Honeybee Discovery Center has engaged HMC Architects to design a world-class facility
cart system for harvesting almonds that will be a regional landmark and create quite a “buzz” as the building will be part of the
and walnuts. It has a conveyer that experience.
unloads onto another vehicle without
stopping, reducing time in the field.
8 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus 9
The new high-performance and cost-effective facility will treat visitors to an immersive By achieving net-zero energy, LEED Platinum certification, and Living Building Challenge
experience in its theater. certification, the new center will be one of the world’s smartest buildings.

Vision for Growth Pollinating Minds with The center capitalizes on providing Our Bee Curriculum Includes: Here is What’s Currently • We are facilitating a Bee Club for
Cutting-Edge Education fully immersive sensory experiences for in Development: hobbyist beekeepers to meet and
The new center will be a modern visitors, allowing them to: • Field trips that provide hands-on take part in trainings and courses
facility dedicated to showcasing Education is the key to transformation, experiences and guided tours that • We are maintaining collaborative hosted by the center.
honeybees, the pollination cycle, and the Honeybee Discovery Center • Discover how honey is produced. deepen students’ understanding relationships with educational
the history of beekeeping, and the will provide its visitors with copious and knowledge about the role of institutions to encourage lifelong • We are embracing distance learning
interconnectedness between ecology learning opportunities to inspire • See the anatomy of a bee up close. honeybees and pollinators. learning experiences. through online presentations,
and pollinators. change. After all, bees lie at the heart of lectures, and classes in a supportive
our survival. • Taste honey from different nectar • Seasonal exhibits with rotating topics • We are working with CSU Chico’s digital learning environment,
Audiences will include travelers sources. in the main gallery supplemented College of Agriculture to develop increasing our audience beyond
visiting Northern California, regional Visitors will get a unique look into with handouts. an Introduction to Beekeeping Northern California. A digital archive
clubs and organizations, schools and the science of honeybees and other • Watch honeybees work. certification class for hobby of previous exhibitions, resources
university scholars, local communities, pollinators, as well as the history of • Interactive activities facilitated beekeepers and those seeking on bees and beekeeping, and a wide
beekeepers, and farmers. The center beekeeping, to help them understand The center has a library with materials by credentialed teachers with employment with beekeepers at variety of self-guided curricula will
will serve as a gathering place for local how critical bees are to our food and will expand this in its new facility. beekeeping experience to augment Chico’s certified Bee Campus. also be hosted online.
community events and a destination for system. The center will have rotating This library will be a resource for student learning.
people from all over the world to learn exhibits that explain colony collapse hobbyists and professional beekeepers. • We are conducting a robust outreach • We are curating a gift shop with bee-
about bees. disorder, the basics of a beehive design, It will also house literature-based books • Learning materials and teacher program to local and Northern themed items, including books on
bee biology, and how honeybees for children and youth. Additionally, guides to encourage and engage California schools and community beekeeping and honey, to help fund
communicate through smell, sound, the library will preserve and archive grade school students learning about groups with sequenced, educational the center.
and dance. As visitors learn about bees’ historical books and documents on bees and pollinators both before and standards-based field trips.
essential role in our ecosystem, they will beekeeping and apiculture. after visitng the center. • A volunteer outreach program to
become more connected and invested • We are creating suitcase exhibitions recruit and train more volunteers.
in protecting their environment. • Exhibit-specific artifacts, videos, and and learning units for classes unable
displays to expose visitors of all ages to visit the center.
to the world of honeybees.
 GOLD USGBC USGBC SARA THE ARCHITECT’S
Honeybee Discovery Center NEWSPAPER
10 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus
The rooftop garden combined with a large solar array creates a doubly photosynthetic roof,
NUGGET AWARD AWARD AWARD Prospectus
AWARD
11

harnessing the sun’s power while shading the interior for comfort. AWARD
GRAND AWARD SDGBC SDGBC MERIT AWARD BEST OF
BEST SPECIAL UNBUILT ZNWATER LEED BD+C UNBUILT AND DESIGN
USE PROJECT MERIT AWARD REGISTERED UNBUILT THEORETICAL UNBUILT GREEN
MERIT AWARD PRJECTS CATEGORY

The New Building Children and adults will enjoy diverse A multifunctional classroom will house The Center will be surrounded by a Visitors can also observe the bees as
experiences that stimulate mind, body, lectures, hands-on labs, instructional pollinator garden, with plaza areas for they work through a large, real-time
Once constructed, new Honeybee and spirit, including bee-inspired workshops, culinary classes, honey- activities. On the north side, visitors video feed that gives a close-up view.
Discovery Center will include a theater artwork and opportunities to learn tasting events, and more. The main will be able to observe butterflies The south arrival plaza doubles as an
providing an immersive experience about honey, beeswax, and other hall will be used to stage informal pollinating flowers and learn about event space and spills into a shaded
and a contemplative study of historical byproducts of bees. gatherings, community events, display plants for their own gardens. The park for smaller gatherings and quiet
prints and drawings. large beekeeping artifacts and be butterfly garden is visible both inside contemplation.
The rich history of beekeeping in avilable for temporary exhibits and and outside the gallery. A rooftop
The entire center—exhibits, building, Northern California will be displayed private functions. garden with colorful plants selected to The building itself is an exhibit
and site—will be dedicated to with artifacts drawn from the regional attract bee pollinators will allow visitors demonstrating how thoughtful
education and enjoyment. Exhibits community. A cylindrical theater will In addition to bee and honey-related to safely observe bees visiting flowers planning and design can create
will range from traditional displays, be able to hold an entire class of school items, a new gift shop will also to collect pollen and nectar. healthier, habitable space for humans
artifacts, and interactive, kid-friendly children, enveloping them in a larger- provide materials for teachers that and bees. Bees can inspire intelligence
learning areas to multimedia and high- than-life cinematic introduction to the include a bee education curriculum in how we shape the human
tech augmented reality interfaces. world of honeybees. An observation for classrooms, online learning, and environment.
hive will allow patrons to watch bees research for beekeeping hobbyist
in action. An interactive exhibit gallery clubs.
guides visitors through the pollination
cycle.
12 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus 13
EARTH SOLAR SKYLIGHTS SOLAR
TUBES ABSORBERS PANELS

HOT AIR EJECTED THROUGH

NORTH-FACING CLERESTORY

EXHIBIT
CLASSROOM GARDEN ROOF
PROVIDES INSULATION,
HABITAT, AND WATER
RETENTION

MAIN
HALL

GALLERY THEATER

Inspired by the ingenuity of both bees and regional farm buildings, the structure is designed to
house the center and embody its principles.
EARTH TUBES COOL INTAKE AIR USING THE THERMAL MASS OF THE GROUND

The main hall is heated and cooled without any traditional mechanical systems. Emulating the
ventilation of honeybee hives, it passively uses physics to move air through the space and keep
people comfortable all year round.
14 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus 15

The estimated
cost of this project
is $8.5 million to
$12.5 million.*
Fundraising

MICHAEL RATH PHOTOGRAPHY

CAROLINA BURRESON
Honeybees are in jeopardy, and The Honeybee Discovery Center’s “Vanishing bees is a global and
they need your help. talented board of retired educators regional threat.”
understood the need, stepped up, and Buzz Landon
With your contribution we will be able took action to save the honeybees and President,
to continue educating the public about preserve the history of beekeeping in California
these essential pollinator, preserve North America. They are doing this the Beekeeper’s
the art of beekeeping, and ensure only way they know how, by teaching as Association
honeybees survive. many people as possible about the role
of honeybees and other pollinators.
Honeybees are:
Why? Because their family members
• Essential to agriculture are beekeepers. Because they love
honeybees and have a deep desire to
• Vital for the preservation of preserve the legacy of their families for
ecological balance and diversity in generations to come, and because they
nature. know what’s at stake if they don’t.

• The only insect that produces food For today. For tomorrow.
consumed by humans.
For the future of our tiniest residents—
Honeycomb shapes playfully project daylight throughout the hive stair interior. • Vanishing at nearly 40 percent each honeybees.
year.
*This includes construction, soft costs, exhibits, specialty systems, and initial program and operating start-up support. This estimated cost does not include cost of
land and future escalation of construction costs. (Note: Facility scope and design are likely to be refined based on programmatic needs and funding availability.)
16 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus 17

Below: Board Treasurer and Volunteer Donica O’Laughlin reads to

Naming
Opportunities
a group of children during story hour; At Right: Youth volunteers
during Pollinator Week help children plant sunflower seed starters.

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The Honeybee Discovery Center will Join us and act: We also accept donations by check Invest in your values.
be a place to teach our community to our mailing address:
about honeybees and the role they 1. Follow us on social media Invest in your community.
play in feeding the world. It’s a place to @HoneyBeeDiscoveryCenter Honeybee Discovery Center
pollinate minds to discover the art and 501 Walker Street Invest in agriculture.
science of beekeeping. The only place 2. Tell your social media friends Orland, CA 95963
of its kind, it will be built here in the about us using the hashtag Invest in the future.
Queen Bee Capital of North America. #HoneybeeDiscoveryCenter Contribute TODAY and help us get one
step closer to our dream by donating Naming opportunities will be
We invite you to join us, become a part 3. Come visit us in Orland, California, online at honeybeediscoverycenter.org. available. Your family can be
of the Honeybee Discovery Center and and share what you’ve learned about remembered in perpetuity with
spread the word about honeybees. We honeybees and pollinators. a legacy gift to the Honeybee
can’t do it without your support. Discovery Center.
18 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus 19

Financials
WALKER STREET

EXISTING
RETAIL
POLLINATOR
PLAZA

We are funding the project Once fully operational, the center will The center seeks one-time gifts, five-
HISTORIC SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY (DECOMMISSIONED)
through a community-wide generate revenue through earned year pledges, and deferred/estate gift
capital campaign that will income (admission tickets, fee-based support from individuals, businesses,
EXISTING also seek donations from programs, facility rental, gift shop, and and corporations. Your donation can
PARKING
outside of our community. more) as well as public and private include any combination of cash,

FIFTH STREET
donations (annual memberships, marketable securities, real estate, or

���
ROOFTOP planned giving, and program-specific other marketable assets.
POLLINATOR
gifts).
GARDEN

EVENT
PLAZA EXISTING
RETAIL

Sitework $1.0 million

Total Building $7.1 million

COLUSA STREET
Project Exhibits $1.2 million

Naming Opportunities and Sponsorable Areas Costs Sustainable

$1.2 million
Features

Benefit Sponsorship Fee Benefit Sponsorship Fee Soft Costs $2.0 million
$8.5—12.5 M
Theater $600,000 Beehive Stair $175,000

Solar Absorber South Entry Displays $150,000

$550,000
(Passive Heating and Cooling)
Second Floor Video Exhibit $150,000
Event Plaza $475,000
Rooftop Pollinator Garden $135,000
Pollinator Plaza $450,000
Breakout Exhibit (Second Floor) $120,000
Classroom $450,000
Overlook Exhibits (Second Floor) $100,000
Hydronic Radiant Heating and
$340,000
Night Sky Cooling System Shade Sails (2 at $40,000 EA) $80,000

Gallery Exhibits $320,000 Benches (5 at $10,000 EA) $50,000

Schedule CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
EFFORTS, OCT. 2022

Gift Shop $250,000 Storage Shed $50,000

ARCHITECTURE
Solar Panels $225,000 Composting Toilet $25,000

Archives $200,000 Observation Hive $5,000 INTERPRETIVE

Stand Alone Restroom $200,000 PLANNING AND
Pavers (EA) $100-$500
EXHIBIT DESIGN
PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 PHASE 4
Earth Tubes System

$5,290,000
$190,000 CONCEPT COST & DESIGN CONSTRUCTION
(Passive Cooling) FUNDRAISING AGENCY APPROVAL
BID & NEGOTIATION
Sitework
Sustainable Features
Building
Exhibits
20 Honeybee Discovery Center Prospectus

Leadership

Yvonne Koehnen Carolina Burreson Laurel Hill-Ward

BOARD PRESIDENT BOARD VICE PRESIDENT BOARD SECRETARY
“The beekeeping livelihood is so unique and “At the Honeybee Discovery Center, we offer a “I believe that educating others with a Bee
interesting, and I think that it will be fun to share showcase of honeybees and other pollinators Curriculum through the Honeybee Discovery
it with visitors. Bees are so extremely vital for in an engaging and interactive learning Center and securing funding to continue that
our food production. Everyone wants to learn environment. Our enriching educational mission not only protects beekeeping, but more
more about bees and how to protect them; this program and continued curriculum provide importantly, protects bees and other pollinators,
educational center will do that. The Honeybee a memorable experience and ensure visitors which are vital to our world. I’m committed to
Discovery Center will become a destination; return to discover even more about these giving back to the profession that has fed our
there are no other such facilities in the United fascinating little creatures. As a farmer and family for five generations.”
States.” apiary owner, it is also important to me to find
opportunities to collaborate with farmers to
help sustain hive health and support the health
of our agricultural industry.”

Donica O’Laughlin Pete Carr Dr. Elina Niño

BOARD TREASURER ORLAND CITY MANAGER ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF COOPERATIVE
EXTENSION, APICULTURE
“I believe we need to educate people of all ages “Bringing in the science and education
about the vital role of honeybees and other surrounding our rich history of beekeeping is “I’m honored to contribute to the development
pollinators in the production of food. I want a natural fit for Orland, the Queen Bee Capital, of the Honeybee Discovery Center. When I
people to know and understand what each of us and I’m proud to be a part of the vision for the first heard Yvonne Koehnen speak about it at
can do at any age to help save the honeybees.” Honeybee Discovery Center.” a bee breeder’s meeting I attended, I admired
MITCHELL YERXA PHOTOGRAPHY

her passion for beekeeping and all things

honeybees. As an extension specialist and an
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educator, I believe educating the public about

the importance of honeybees and pollinators in
food production and healthy ecosystems is one
of the most successful ways to garner support
for their preservation.”
 501 Walker St. Orland, CA
www.honeybeediscoverycenter.org
honeybeediscoverycenter@gmail.com
(530) 805-BUZZ (2899)

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MITCHELL YERXA PHOTOGRAPHY
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