Humble Honey Bees Visit St. Justin School and Community Garden
During early May, the Planet Bee Foundation came to St. Justin School to share information on the importance of honey bees to maintain our food supply and how we can help them thrive. Students observed worker and drone bees in a living hive, simulated what it is like for a single bee to gather nectar and pollen from 2000 flowers a day, and then prepared some California Golden Poppy seeds inside a clay ball to plant right away. Having a diverse population of flowers nearby helps the honey bees get a balanced diet. Students also learned how the hive works together to tend to the 1000+ eggs laid each day by the queen, evaporate the water out of the collected nectar to make honey, and of course pollinate the crops we depend on each season, including the fruits and vegetable plants of the St. Justin Community Garden. This visit was made possible by a grant from Whole Foods Market to help educate the public about pollinator decline.