(NAPSI)—Remember the Lorax, who spoke for the trees? Dr.
Seuss’ tale laid important groundwork by encouraging the next
generation to care about the environment. As Seuss wrote, “Unless
someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.
It’s not.” Regardless of age or ability, students who care
“a whole awful lot” can become some of bees’ best
advocates.
With pollinators facing challenges including a lack of forage (food) that
provides them with proper nutrition and habitat, we have a great opportunity
to empower the next generation to “speak for the bees” and give
them the tools to help.
Impact Beyond the Classroom
When kindergartners at The Orchard School in Indianapolis learned they
wouldn’t have chocolate without pollinators, what began as a snack time
discussion led to a burning desire to help. Their curriculum model allowed
students to work together to plant and maintain a pollinator-attractant garden,
which more than 15 species visit regularly. To further this student-driven
impact, the school applied for funding through the Bayer Feed a Bee program,
which provides grants to create forage areas to feed bees and other
pollinators.
This spring, the grant will fund the renovation of an older butterfly
garden, broadening it to serve more pollinators by planting native
wildflowers and installing “pocket beds” of annual flower
species. Students across grade levels will participate in plant selection,
plant rearing and garden design.
“There is nothing more powerful in education than student
voice,” wrote Vicky Prusinski, science specialist at The Orchard
School. “Funding for this project quite literally allows my students to
put their money where their mouths are and do what they passionately feel
compelled to do.”
Agriculture-Focused Camp Programs
Gateway to the Arctic Camp outside of Talkeetna, Alaska, also got a Feed a
Bee grant to provide hands-on education for young people. The nonprofit
teaches campers the significance of serving those in need and the value of
hard work through fun activities involving sustainability, farming and
environmental stewardship. For years, the camp planted wildflowers to attract
pollinators to its 3 acres of gardens, and this summer it will dedicate an
entire field as forage for native bees and other pollinators. Campers of all
abilities, including those with special needs, can discover the connection
between bees and the crops they pollinate. The Feed a Bee program celebrates
this program not only because of its commendable mission but because the
organization’s grant meant Feed a Bee met its goal of funding forage
for pollinators in all 50 states.
Since 2015, Feed a Bee has distributed more than 3 billion wildflower seeds
nationwide and provided grants to 163 organizations in efforts to increase
forage and, perhaps most importantly, to teach kids the importance of bees.
Learn More
For further facts and to learn how you can help, visit www.FeedABee.com.
“Launched in 2015,
the Feed a Bee program has met its goal of planting forage for pollinators in
all 50 states. http://bit.ly/2HHCfKy”
On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.(NAPSI)