Beekeeper Engages Jerry Thomas Elementary Students

Online, June 13, 2014 (Newswire.com) - The second grade classes at Jerry Thomas Elementary School recently attended a Bee Understanding presentation hosted by Bee Understanding.org, a nonprofit project. Al Salopek, program manager of Bee Understanding.org and a local beekeeper, engaged the students in briefly describing the life of the honey bee and how important they are to our survival. He set up a display table consisting of a live, two frame observation hive, an empty commercial bee hive with frames, beekeeping equipment and suit, books, honeycomb, beeswax, flowers and various artificial fruits and vegetables that the honey bee pollinates.

Second grade teacher Mrs. Kyle commented, "It was great to see the students hanging on very word Mr. Al was saying." The student volunteers dressed up and roll played the various bees. Mr. Salopek visited the classrooms to talk in depth about the various jobs in the hive that the honey bee takes on during their short life. The students are now quite educated about the jobs in the hive and get excited in trying to point out the cleaner bee, builder bee, scout bee, nurse bee and of course the queen bee.

"The observation hive was great," said Mrs. Kyle. "It was like looking through a window into the busy home of the honey bee." She also stated "The classroom visit has a huge impact on the students and everything they learned about honey bees; it was a very meaningful connection." Each student received a honey stick to keep as a reminder of the lesson that was taught about honey bees. For more information please contact Principal Ann Wark at [email protected].

The mission of Bee Understanding.Org is to educate, raise awareness and demystify the honeybee for children while helping them to form a connection to nature. The sustainability of the world we live in will be determined by what we do now with the young people growing up. If children can understand the importance of the bees and how bees work together, this understanding can potentially deepen their connection and relationship with their community and the world around them.

Bee Understanding.Org is sponsored by UCP, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit fiscal sponsor of active charitable programs. Through UCP, Salopek is able to focus solely on his program's charitable mission, rather than on the administrative burdens that an independent nonprofit can have. Donations made to Bee Understanding.Org are tax‐deductible. For more information about Bee Understanding.Org, please visit their website at http://beeunderstanding.com.

UCP's mission is to empower people to help others by fiscally sponsoring targeted charitable programs that effect positive change through charitable, educational, scientific, or religious actions worldwide. UCP programs vary in size, budget and scope, but all share the desire to make a difference in the lives of others. For more information about UCP and fiscal sponsorship, please visit www.UnitedCharitablePrograms.org.