Save the Honey Bees and Save the Human Race!
Local troop asks for community support
By Jessica Zummo, May 29, 2011
The Vernon Junior Girl Scouts of Troop #757 are concerned about Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder, and are determined to spread the word that the honey bees must be saved.
Troop #757 is made up of seven girls in the 6th and 7th grades. Troop Leader Terry Latham and Co-Leader Sherrie Giannantonio guide them.
The Troop is working toward a Bronze Award, which is the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn.
“It shows you have made a promise to help others, improve your community and world, and become the best you can be,” said Latham about the award and what it means to the scouts.
There are many pre-requisites, but the actual Bronze Award Project requires 15 hours of preparation and presentation.
A Bronze Award culminates in a Community Service Project, yet these junior scouts have taken this project far beyond the boundaries of their community. “This is a world-wide problem!” said Latham.
“The girls have chosen to “Help Save the Honeybees” because “without them there is no pollination of fruits and vegetables, subsequently no Human Race!”
The Troop plans to send 100% of donations to Penn State, due to its locality.
To date, the troop has raised $330 at Vernon’s Earthfest, plus other donations, including a Bake Sale.
“This is a serious problem! One-third of the population of bees dies every year!” added Latham.
So, what is all the Buzz about the bees?
According to Renée Johnson, a Specialist in Agricultural Policy, starting in late 2006, “commercial migratory beekeepers along the East Coast of the United States began reporting sharp declines in their honey bee colonies.”
Because of the severity and unusual circumstances of these colony declines, scientists named this phenomenon Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
“Reports indicate that beekeepers in most states have been affected,” stated Johnson.
Overall, the number of managed honeybee colonies dropped an estimated 35.8%,
according to the specialist.
Researchers say that honeybees are the most economically valuable pollinators of agricultural crops worldwide.
Scientists at universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) frequently have stated that “bee pollination is involved in about one-third of the U.S. diet, and contributes to the production of a wide range of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, forage crops, some field crops, and other specialty crops.”
“The monetary value of honey bees as commercial pollinators in the United States is
estimated at about $15-$20 billion annually,” added Johnson.
Based on the available research over the past few years on the numerous possible causes of CCD, USDA concluded in its 2007-2008 progress report (released in June 2009) that “it now seems clear that no single factor alone is responsible for the malady.” This has led researchers to further examine the hypothesis that CCD may be “a syndrome caused by many different factors, working in combination or synergistically.”
Currently, USDA states, researchers are focusing on three major possibilities, including pesticides that may be having unexpected negative effects on honey bees; a new parasite or pathogen that may be attacking honey bees, and a combination of existing stresses that may compromise the immune system of bees and disrupt their social system, making colonies more susceptible to disease and collapse.
How Can Society Change the Fate of the Honeybees?
For starters, get out and support Troop #757 in their quest to “Help Save the Honeybees!”
“We will be present at Vernon Day and hope to see the Community step up to HELP…” Latham concluded.
Latham and her junior scouts are also asking for donations of any amount, in return for small gifts such as bee pins, sunflower seedlings and seed packets of specific plants that attract bees. Plenty of information will be readily available for the community as well.
Vernon Day is June 5th, from 11am-4pm at Maple Grange Park, Vernon NJ.
For more information on the honeybees and CCD, visit www.savehoneybees.org.
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