Since our founding in 2013, Earth Day has become a big deal for us at SkyWater Search Partners. As our company has grown each year, so has our sense of community engagement and environmental awareness. It’s an exciting journey that has opened our eyes to the many ways our team can get involved.

Whether you’re trying to spark a beginners’ sustainability movement in the break room or rally the troops for some hands-on green-thumb action in the broader community, we’d like to share some of the coolest ways we’ve discovered right here in the Twin Cities area, to make Earth Day the highlight of the office calendar - and keep that green momentum going strong all year round. 

Sweet: Host a Beehive!

The folks at Kinnibees are “on a mission to help increase access to bee colonies in your backyard or business.” Kinnibees is partnering with Minnesota and Wisconsin organizations and families to address the decline in health and population among bee colonies in the United States.  

What you do: You’ll find everything on the Kinnibees site inspiring. But be sure to check out their Host a Beehive program. It’s a simple, fun way to actively strengthen our bee colonies by providing space and sponsorship. Kinnibees does everything else, setting everything up and “managing the hives without any chemicals.”

What you get: When you host a beehive, you bring a visible reminder of your team’s active participation in a noble cause. As if the pride and satisfaction isn’t enough, you’ll also receive all of the honey your bees produce.   

Plant a Seed: Reduce Hunger and Support Minnesota’s Black, Brown, and Indigenous Farmers

If you’ve never heard of Route 1, take a look now. Who they are, what they stand for, and how they intend to achieve their vision to “increase food access globally and eradicate, dismantle and disrupt the inequity and lack of representation within the agricultural… system.”  

Headquartered in Hamel, Minnesota, Route 1’s approach promises to make a difference that will be felt across the United States for generations to come, beginning with 3 E’s: Empowering, Encouraging, and Educating farmers of color: their Emerging Farmers Institute, a ten-week program that delivers the latest information on tools and processes to help farmers grow their businesses by growing better food for the community; the Emerging Farmers Market, a program that connects farmers with markets within the community – at no cost to the farmer – while making their food more accessible to the community by accepting SNAP-EBT and Market Bucks; and Seeds for Success Youth Academy, a program created by Inclusive Spaces offers a “transformative journey for youth into the world of sustainable farming.”

What you do: when your organization gifts to Route 1, you will actively support expanding “education and market development opportunities” for BIPOC farmers in Minnesota.  

What you get: In a world where the headlines are filled with stories of farm struggles and the threats of climate change on food production, you will find hope and a place to invest your support in Route 1. But there's more: beginning this June, you’ll also be able to take home the fruits of these farmers’ labor by stopping by the Hopkins Farmers Market and buying Route 1 produce. When you bring that and serve it to your family, you will know you had a hand in growing that food, building racial justice in agriculture, and helping farmer grow their business.