Mt. Diablo Beekeepers Association (MDBA) is dedicated to educating
communities about honeybees and the historic art of beekeeping. We have
a number of volunteers who visit schools and other interested groups.
Typically, our visits include a demonstration hive with live bees, posters,
beekeeping equipments, and honey tasting.
Rich Coleman describes a typical visit,
"I have given several beekeeper presentations at summer camps,
day care centers and community events as a volunteer. At each presentation
I've been very impressed by the quality of the questions I relieved
from the students. Each presentation started off with the students
showing a general fear of bees and within minutes turned to complete
curiosity and interest in learning more.
"During a presentation I cover the topics of: benefits of
being a social insect, benefits to people and our economy, insect
lifecycle, division of labor in the hive. I let the presentation drive
itself forward by having the audience put the information together
and propose a logical answer, then expand why the beehive works. After
which the students look into the demo hive and pick out the different
activities going on. I find most of my presentations last for about
30 minutes for 3rd grade and under and about an hour for older groups."
We have created a video, "Our Buzzy Buddies", 19 minutes
long, for use in schools. It is available free of charge.
We ask that a $25 donation per visit be made in the form of a check
to "Mount Diablo Beekeepers Asociation".
Here are some of the people we're visiting this year. If you're interested
in having us visit your classroom or event, please contact
.
| Date |
Event |
Presenter(s) |
|
April 24
|
Rotary Club, Concord |
Gary Lawrence |
| May 2 |
Springhill School, Lafayette (5 first
grade classes) |
Gary Lawrence |
| May 5 |
John Swett School, Martinez (4 second
grade classes) |
Gary Lawrence |
| May 7 |
Creative Play Center, Pleasant Hill |
Gary Lawrence |
| May 8 |
Mohr Elementary, Pleasanton (6 second
grade classes) |
Gary Lawrence with Jan Spieth |
| May 9 |
Mission Elementary, Antioch (6 second
grade classes) |
Gary Lawrence with Jan Spieth |
| May 12 |
Bancroft Elementary (second grade classes)
|
Gary Lawrence |
| May 15 |
Happy Valley Elementary, Lafayette (1
second grade) |
Gary Lawrence with Jan Spieth |
| May 19 |
Gehringer School, Oakley, (5 first grade)
|
Gary Lawrence |
| May 22 |
Murray School, San Ramon (1 second grade)
|
Gary Lawrence |
| June 11 |
Friends of Pleasant Hill Creeks |
Gary Lawrence |
Visits in 2004, 2005,
2006 and 2007.
