Bee Hunt! Ecojustice in Practice for Earth's Buzzing Biodiversity

ABSTRACT

The Bee Hunt! project and curriculum are designed with cultural and environmental sensitivity in mind. In this project, K–12 students develop their awareness and understanding of science and investigate North American pollinator declines. Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators are integrally connected to the pollination of the world's crops for agricultural, pharmaceutical, and textile use. Because pollinators are so important, this article relates to a serious condition emerging from cultural and environmental disregard in school science. The authors explore some reasons why educating for cultural diversity should be extended to include biodiversity and provide a case study to engage students with the Bee Hunt! protocol, digital photography, and data sharing. Finally, the development of Bee Hunt! curriculum guides, including ideas for inquiry-based learning experiences for teachers of elementary language arts; middle school life science; and high school biology, chemistry, physics, and environmental science, is described. The ongoing focus of Bee Hunt! is to help students learn about bees, build local expertise, increase confidence, and develop community responsibility.

KEYWORDS:

• biodiversity
• ecojustice
• environment
• multicultural science curricula
• pollinator

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors thank teachers who are participating in Bee Hunt! curriculum development.

Notes

1. Eusocial is a term for animal behavior pertaining to colonies of insects, such as bees, that cooperatively perform different specialized tasks and work together to raise their young.

2. Photoessays are often used to combine meaningful experiences with reflective notes, in this case on the photographs that students have taken as part of participating in Bee Hunt! Students arrange photos in a way that tells a story and provides evidence of their learning. Photoessays are a great way for younger students to construct team and class data tables.