After working long hours with John Rost we have accomplished a lot and have come a far way. With the energy and motivation from all of our team members, we can all agree this was a very fun and useful project. We got to learn about all different types of flowers that attract bees and how vital bees are to the environment in order for pollination to occur. We learned a lot of information on Colony Collapse Disorder and how prevalent it is around the United States. All of our research was helpful to better understand the problems going on and how it is truly effecting the environment. We also learned a lot through our actual project and had a blast helping out John and we are very happy that our project was located on the Penn State campus so we can go back and see the progress that the garden has made. We learned that there are many obstacles when preforming projects like this. For example, the soil in the garden was very tough and there was a bunch of roots that got in the way while trying to plant our flowers. It made it very difficult to spread the flowers out like they should have been, so instead we just planted them closer together. It was really interesting to see our whole project from start to finish since we planted, fertalized, watered, and planted the seeds.
Category: The “Bee” Team
Final Reflection on EACAP – The Bee Team (May 1, 2016)
After working long hours with John Rost we have accomplished a lot and have come a far way. With the energy and motivation from all of our team members, we can all agree this was a very fun and useful project. We got to learn about all different types of flowers that attract bees and how vital bees are to the environment in order for pollination to occur. We learned a lot of information on Colony Collapse Disorder and how prevalent it is around the United States. All of our research was helpful to better understand the problems going on and how it is truly effecting the environment. We also learned a lot through our actual project and had a blast helping out John and we are very happy that our project was located on the Penn State campus so we can go back and see the progress that the garden has made. We learned that there are many obstacles when preforming projects like this. For example, the soil in the garden was very tough and there was a bunch of roots that got in the way while trying to plant our flowers. It made it very difficult to spread the flowers out like they should have been, so instead we just planted them closer together. It was really interesting to see our whole project from start to finish since we planted, fertilized, watered, and planted the seeds. Next year we are looking forward to coming back to school and seeing the progress that our pollination garden has made!
Updates from the Penn State Greenhouse – The Bee Team (April 12, 2016)
Hi everyone! It’s Alanna, Chelsea, and Damian! So far, we have only had two chances to go over to the greenhouse as a group, as the weather has not been cooperating with us. During our first meeting, we separated s
eeds and planted them, because the sunflowers would have outgrown everything else. We will hopefully be planting the sunflower seeds within the next week or so, and hopefully they will be well on their way before the semester ends.
When we went back two weeks later, we found that the seeds that we had planted started to sprout! During our second trip, we started to clean out an old garden by the Janssen Conference Center. By the time we are done, we should be replanting the seeds that we’ve started into the garden to start a new pollination garden
Other than an outrageously painful splinter in Chelsea’s thumb, our first day cleaning the garden went great! We were able to get a large amount of debris pulled out of the garden, as well as having some laughs during the process.
Damian and Alanna had another workday on April 12th, which greeted them with plenty of rain and mud! They continued cleaning out the garden, by ripping out vines, cutting back poke weed, and raking the cutoffs out of the garden for removal. We’ll be back their bright and early Thursday morning to continue cleaning as a group. We don’t mind cleaning, but we are excited to get back to planting the flowers!
Stay tuned for more to come from The “Bee” Team!
~ Damian, Chelsea, & Alanna
The “Bee” Team
Left to Right: Damian, Chelsea, Alanna
Greetings from The “Bee” Team!
Here is some information about our team members!
Chelsea Watts
Hello! I am a sophomore Professional Writing major with a minor in Global Studies at Berks. I have always been a huge environmental advocate. I spend a lot of time backpacking, kayaking, canoeing, and just about anything else that will get me outside! I have learned a lot about environmental preservation through programs such as Leave No Trace, however most of what I have learned has been very specific to places I have been, such as the John Muir Trail in California. I am very excited to start our EACAP project and learn more about our local environment.
Damian Mace
Hello everyone, I am a sophomore Business major in the Financial Services Option with a minor in Entrepreneurship at Penn State Berks! From an early age I have always loved being outside! I’ve been playing baseball since I could hit a wiffle ball in my own backyard and that is what implanted my love for the outdoors. The preservation and cleanliness of the environment is very important to me. I’m a big advocate on proper recycling and anti-littering because I feel that everyone is capable of doing these things relatively easily. Getting involved within our local communities with the EACAP project is a great opportunity for the students at Penn State Berks to get more involved in helping and understanding the environment!
Alanna Oese
Hello! My name is Alanna Oese and I am a sophomore Applied Psychology major at Penn State Berks. I am an animal lover and spent three years working at an animal hospital because of my love for animals. Along with helping animals, I enjoy protecting and cleaning the environment. I know that if I want to continue going on trips such as camping, hiking, and boating than I must preserve the environment. In high school I was involved in the environmental club which participated in many different projects that preserved the environment. I believe that the EACAP project will give me a chance to really give back to the environment and protect it for the future generations. Also, it will give me a chance to obtain more knowledge about the environment.