Our project focused on the importance of bees to our food supply and environment and took action to save bees by educating others and positively impacting bees’ habitat. The issue addressed was declining bee population, primarily due to loss of food/pollen supply and their habitat in general. Bees pollinate many fruits and other foods we eat, so they are critical to the overall health of our world.
Our target audience was mainly youth since we are all the future and it’s up to us to take steps now to help save bees. We realize that many people are afraid of bees and may even swat/kill them, so we felt it was important to educate kids on why bees are important and how we can help them.
In order to educate the public, we developed posters and handouts and had a booth at a public event (Centred Outdoors Kickoff) where we had activities about the importance of bees and gave participants the opportunity to make a seed bomb to take home and grow native, bee-friendly flowers.
We also planned and led stations, several that focused on bees and other pollinators, for the Brownies Bug Badge at our local camporee. We arranged for a beekeeper to visit the camp as a special guest speaker, where participants could learn more and also sample local honey and honeycomb.
We also helped maintain Girl Scout garden plot (located in local park). The garden is focused on native, pollinator-friendly flowers, plants, and structures.
We feel that teaching the Brownies at Girl Scout Camp was the most successful. The brownies really seemed to enjoy and learn a lot from the activities. They all also made seed bombs and planted flowers in cups to take home and plant in a good place for bees.
Kids will continue to use what they learned about how to help bees and the flowers we planted will continue to provide a source of pollen and nectar for bees. Our troop learned a lot about working together toward a common goal, public speaking / facilitation, and being positive role models. Our leadership skills will continue to grow as we continue sharing what we learned with others.