Where to Find Local & National Pollinator Partner and Educator Support
The honey bees have a practice called festooning. When it comes to building a new home, and comb inside the hive, honey bees link limbs to measure space. This ends up looking like they are building an actual bridge. Community engagement and your Bee Program acts in much of the same way. The following resources will help to build bridges into your community, through local and national organizations built to support educators.
Those bridges help to expand and support Bee Programs. The immediate communities in your programs such as the staff, administration, students, parents, and neighbors are the first step in community engagement. Followed by the partners mentioned below. All of this is to create a strong foundation of support for educators leading these programs, and expand the “hive” of people buzzing about pollinators. In this spirit, let’s start the festoon!
Engage Your Immediate Community
- Community Engagement Bee Program Webinar: How to Connect with Local and National Pollinator Partners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoHBex4qooI
- Template Letter to Share the Buzz with Parents, Staff, and Admin About a New Bee Program: https://www.thebeecause.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/template-parent-letter-for-live-bees-on-campus.pdf
- Safety Template for Welcoming a New Hive to Campus: https://www.thebeecause.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/create-your-live-bee-campus-safety-plan.pdf
- Pollinator Friendly Reading List: https://www.thebeecause.org/the-bee-blog/reading-list/
- Monthly Buzz Calendar + Journal Prompts to Send Home a Monthly Pollinator Fact: https://www.thebeecause.org/bee-grant/classroom-calendar-what-are-bees-up-to-year-round/
National & Local Pollinator Support
- List of Land Grant Colleges and Universities https://higher-ed.org/resources/land_grant_colleges/
- 4-H Youth Development National https://4-h.org
- Extension Master Gardener Programs https://mastergardener.extension.org
- Junior Master Gardener Program https://jmgkids.us
- Master Naturalist Programs by State http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/master-naturalist-programs-by-state.html
- North American Native Plant Societies http://nanps.org/native-plant-societies/
- American Public Gardens Association https://www.publicgardens.org
Connect the Curriculum
- Clemson 4-H Created a Bee a Friend to Pollinators Student Companion Video, Click Here to Access their “Bee” a Friend to Pollinators Lesson Plan Sequence from Start to Finish: https://mailchi.mp/f6ab4c7f9416/bee-a-friend-to-pollinators-lesson-materials
- Explore the Complexity of Your Ecosystem: Master Naturalist
- Find the Native Pollinator Plants Specific to Your Area: Master Gardener
- Expand the Action Plan: Partner with a Local Extension Agent to Make this Lesson Plan Come Alive or Continue the Lesson Over Several Months
- Student Specific Projects: 4-H Extension Agents should be available to assist student led projects or personal student projects.
General Resources
- Million Pollinator Garden Challenge https://www.pollinator.org/mpgcmap/register#form
- Agriculture in the Classroom https://www.agclassroom.org
- Ag in the Classroom Kits https://agclassroomstore.com
- National Farm Bureau Ag Mags https://www.dmsfulfillment.com/FarmBureau/DMSStore/Product/ProductDetail/20145
