Team B.E.E.S.

(Bergen Environmental Effort to Save Bees)

Location: Allendale, New Jersey, USA

Team Members: Colin Bassett, Bryan DiBlasi, Manny Gonzalez, Camila Robbins, Cecilia Schudel, Malith Waharaka

Bees have pollinated the world for 55 million years, but today bee populations worldwide are threatened by “colony collapse disorder,” what researchers describe as the mass disappearance of seemingly healthy bees. Team B.E.E.S. learned how to raise honeybees, constructed a hive box, bought the “nuc” (short for nuclear colony) of bees and bee suits, and has been caring for the hive on a friend’s land in a neighboring town (since their own town prohibits beekeeping!). They sell the harvested honey and products made from the honey, such as candles and lip balm, at local festivals and fairs and use the opportunity to educate the community about the importance of honeybees in pollinating local plants and agriculture. They are also working to change the local ordinance that prohibits honeybee cultivation in their own town.

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