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URBANDALE, Iowa – A Dowling Catholic High School senior is hoping to sway the opinions of Urbandale city leaderse to allow bee-keeping within city limits.

Clare Heinrich won a scholarship through the Iowa Honey Producers Association in 2015, requiring her to take months of “bee classes” to learn about bees and how to care for them. At the end of 2015, Heinrich was awarded a beehive and a colony of bees. She and her family received a letter from the city requesting the beehive be moved outside of city limits, because city officials say bees are classified as livestock. Heinrich and her family have expressed a desire to see this policy changed, they say, and are hoping to get the word out to gather support.

“I knew that bees were starting to disappear, and I wanted to do something to help that,” she said. “To help the environment, and to help just the whole community.”

Heinrich and her father care for her beehive at a friend’s house outside city limits. Just last week, seven species of bees were placed on the endangered species list.