HARRISBURG, Pa.– Westminster College has received a 2025 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for its rapidly growing campus apiary and community engagement efforts in pollinator conservation.

Dr. Patrick Krantz and Dr. Kerri Duerr represented the Clarence and Mary Ann Harms Center for the Environment at the June 10 awards ceremony in Harrisburg.  Westminster was one of just 19 honorees statewide.

The college’s beekeeping initiative began in 2020 with just six hives and has since grown to over 70. The apiary is now the foundation for courses such as Environmental Entrepreneurship, which highlights the intersection of sustainability and business through partnerships with the Westminster Bee Company.

In 2024 alone, the project engaged more than 800 people through student events and community outreach. It also supported charitable causes, including donations of honey to “Bags & Blessings,” a nonprofit organization that provides comfort bags to cancer patients.

“The Environmental Excellence honorees embody the innovative thinking needed to protect our environment and shape a more sustainable future here in Pennsylvania,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley.

The Westminster Bee Company and the Harms Center for the Environment were reviewed based on criteria such as environmental impact, innovation, collaboration, sustainability, and community outreach.