LESSONS FROM A JUNIOR BEE CLUB

摘要

The Treasure Valley Beekeepers' Club (TVBC) in Boise, Idaho is full of enthusiastic members and presenters, with upbeat and informative meetings. But that was not enough to keep the attention of the kids who accompanied their parents to the meetings.The kids would be finishing their homework, playing video games, and basically looking bored. So Michele Donnelly, my wife and beekeeping partner, thought, what if we offered a meeting to teach them about bees and beekeeping, a meeting geared towards them. She decided to do something about it.She started TVBC's Junior Bee Club, for kids ages 5-14, which runs concurrently with the club's regular meetings, in an adjacent room of our meeting hall. She is quick to point out that she and her volunteers are not there to babysit. They offer real life lessons for budding young beekeepers, often to the envy of the adults who wish they could join in where the fun is taking place.