2019, Sacramento, California, USA
When Anahi Orozco, Giselle Pantoja, and Ryan Mengell, students at George Washington Carver High School, starting researching topics for their Caring for Our Watersheds project, they learned a lot about the importance of pollinators in agriculture and that their numbers have been rapidly decreasing. Learning about issues like Colony Collapse Disorder (in honeybees) as well as habitat loss inspired them to help support bee populations, including many species of native bees that can also serve as successful pollinators.
They planted a pollinator garden on campus with several different species that would provide nectar sources throughout the year and installed a bee nesting box that would provide nest sites for different sizes and species of many California native bees.
Establishing this garden will also benefit the pollination in the school’s nearby garden, and serve as a educational component of garden class. Caring for Our Watersheds funding helped purchase plants, soil, and the nest box for their “Bee Friendly” garden.