Beehive for Princeton High School
Catalina at Princeton High School, Princeton, NJ
$750 in January 2023 (and $500 in October 2022 for a related research project)
Grantee Catalina is the president of Princeton High School's Bee Club and a certified beekeeper with the South Jersey Beekeeper Association. She learned that in New Jersey, specifically, many hives have been lost due to Varroa mites. Their population has increased as a result of climate change; the mites live longer as the winter season grows warmer and shorter. Droughts and pesticides also negatively affect bees, which has resulted in a large decrease in their population.
Catalina organized the construction of a beehive on school grounds to study the impact of the Varroa mites and to engage teachers and fellow students in learning about bees firsthand, including the critical role they play in pollination and the threats their habitats face from climate change.
Although the larger goals are research and education, she hopes to generate enough honey in the future to incorporate a small amount into food served at the school.