Before all this stupid virus stuff, I was teaching in local elementary schools. I was teaching kids about pollinators. I did some teaching of adults too, but my joy was the little ones.
I would go into the school with a few props. Bee suit, smoker, a small hive box with a few frames. I taught from a PowerPoint because when you are teaching about bees, that is the last thing that you can bring in a class room. The pictures that I put together would get the children just as excited.
I LOVED IT!! I Loved the joy on the children’s faces as I would tell them about the Queen, the workers and the Drones. I love the joy on their faces when I told them how a “swarm” happened.
And I Loved the Joy that knowing, just maybe one day, that child would remember how important the Bees are, Native Bees and Honey Bees alike! How without them, we would not have the seeds to plant the fruits, vegetables and flowers that we love. There would be no tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, apples, oranges and on and on and on.
The joy that maybe one day when the teachings learned as a child, would be remembered. The child would remember that killing our pollinators is not a very smart thing to do and would chose not to buy or use the poisons that are sold on almost every store shelf in the country.
If just one child remembers, it will have been worth my time.
MENTORING
I also mentor new beekeepers. Our bee club here in North Carolina is shaping up quite nicely. It was not always that way. About 12 years ago, I was begging members to step up to be officers of the club. One person had been president of that club for over 10 years. It was dying a slow death. I mustered up enough people to keep the club afloat. At the end of 4 years of being an officer, I knew it was time to set the bird free to see if it could fly.
I have to say that in that 12 years, the club struggled, but is now doing great. They have started a new mentoring system that allowed one person to teach 4-5 new beekeepers at a time. The old way of one-on-one was just too time consuming and most of the new beekeepers would drop out because of lack of knowledge.
There is a steep learning curve to beekeeping and without that knowledge, you would stumble through the process and if your were determined enough, the bees would teach you everything that you needed to know, sooner or later. Most never made it that far.
TEACHING IN BEE CLUBS
I am also starting to teach other bee clubs again. Each month the bee clubs in my local area would have different speakers at their meetings. My favorite subject to teach was – What is Blooming for the Bee Today?
I have a full lesson on what blooms in our state of North Carolina each month of the year. We are blessed with weather that allows something to bloom almost every month of the year. Yes, even January & February!!
After all, what is a better hobby to go along with beekeeping, than Gardening!
I was even able to keep Calendula blooming ALL WINTER in a sheltered spot. I saw bees visiting many sunny days as there was not much else to forage on.
Soon the Mountain Mint will be blooming and the Borage.
Always something to do in The Bee Lady Apiary!
Until Next Month…..
Namaste’
