Weeks before N.C. A&T students left campus in May, they took a quick detour to the Student Center to learn the benefits of bees and how they impact our food system.
World Bee Day is officially recognized on May 20. Students from the Integrated Pest Management program, housed in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, celebrated the world’s most recognizable pollinators with an exhibit on May 2, highlighting the different types of bees and their roles in plant pollination.
“Pollinators are declining, and people need to be aware and see ways in which they can help to curb this decline,” said Dingha. “In the absence of bees and other pollinators, if you go to the grocery store, you’ll find empty shelves because there will be certain foods not available, which creates food insecurity. When you have pollinators in abundance, then you’ll have more fruits, nuts, and other foods.”
The program, part of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, studies the control and management of pests without chemical pesticides. The program involves research on pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and other animals or insects that impact plant production.
Students learned such things as the life cycle of honeybees and information about different bee species, the appearance of raw honey and a life-sized beekeeping outfit.
As a caution, they also saw images of grocery stores with no produce, due to lack of pollinators.
Kai Timmons, a rising junior in the sustainable land and food systems program, was one of several presenting students.
“As a nation and as a community, we realize that pollinators are very much needed,” said Timmons. “We’re taking steps to bring awareness to pollinator endangerment. Bee Day highlights the need of bees and why they’re critical to our surroundings.”
Miles Lee, a rising senior in the program, highlighted the importance of bees even in urban-based environments like Greensboro.
“We go to an urban campus at A&T, and often times we don’t come across pollinators or wildflowers to know how productive they can be to our ecosystem,” said Lee. “We want to bridge that gap and show that different types of bees - not just honeybees, but a wide diversity of bees – can be impactful to our food system.”
Keke Dorvilier, a freshman business management student, said she was drawn to the exhibit because of her interest in pollinators and organic lifestyles.
“I’m not very afraid of bees, and I encourage people to approach them more happily,” said Dorvilier. “I learned about mating and worker bees, how the hive is constructed, and a lot of good information.”
