In March 2020, this Hopewell Valley Neighbors column published details about an ambitious partnership between local schools and community groups to address a serious environmental issue. Unfortunately, their plan did not anticipate the coronavirus pandemic that would lead to schools suspending in-person instruction from March 16th through the end of the school year.
Exactly one year later, March 2021, we are happy to share the COVID-friendly solution used to complete the project.
The Environmental Issue: One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators, especially bees, for a successful harvest. But for decades, global bee populations have declined due to biodiversity losses and habitat destruction. Furthermore, pesticide use is particularly dangerous for honeybees and wild pollinators. If the die-off continues, it will have huge economic and public health consequences.
The Original Solution: Local schools and the community members were scheduled to build new bee habitat. The plan was that individuals and small groups would attend free workshops to learn how to assemble individual “bee abodes” and public high school shop classes would build large “bee hotel” structures to house the abodes.
Pandemic Challenge: Indoor bee abode workshops needed to be cancelled. High school students could not meet, plan, and build bee hotel housing structures. Sadly, declining pollinator populations could not simply defer their needs until the pandemic was addressed.
New Solution: FoHVOS was able to pivot and convert their group workshops to build-at-home individual bee abode kits comprised of repurposed industrial pallets to be filled with upcycled invasive phragmites. The build-at-home kits were a tremendous success as families were happy to help with conservation projects. But while individual abodes were being built, bee hotel alternatives proved elusive.
It appeared that the bee hotel would become another COVID-19 casualty until Matthew Tunkel of Pennington proposed a solution. At the end of April 2020, FoHVOS received his email. Here is an excerpt:
I am in the boy scouts of troop 44 in Pennington NJ. I am currently working on getting my eagle rank which is the last rank in scouting. I am looking for a service project to do that would help out the community, with some of my fellow scouts. My Mom had recently put together one of your bee abodes, it sparked my interest and I wanted to help out. I was wondering if you needed any help with the production of .. a “Bee Hotel”. With the approval of the organization, you, and my scoutmaster I would love to help out with the cause and have it be a part of my scouting experience.
After a process protracted by the pandemic, Matthew’s initiative paid off. With help from fellow scouts, he designed, built, and permanently installed a beautiful bee hotel. You can see it now at the FoHVOS Nayfield Preserve.
The Hotel also features an interpretive sign detailing the types of bees that will use the hotel, how to maintain bees in your area, the importance of biodiversity, and the story behind the project. The bee hotel will be filled with combinations of individual bee abodes — some made from our original kits and others to be made from repurposed ash trees prepared by volunteers.
The 2020 bee abode initiative was the latest in a series of FoHVOS Community Conservation projects. Our 2019 project helped kestrels, which are threatened birds that need habitat to thrive Through an initial grant from NJDEP Conserve Wildlife, we installed 50 birdboxes throughout Hopewell Valley on lands including local schools, The Watershed Institute, Mercer County, and D&R Greenway preserves. Volunteers monitored the boxes for kestrel activity. In 2019, under 10 kestrel fledglings used the new boxes. In 2020, about 30 fledglings returned to use the boxes, and we anticipate this summer that word will spread among our kestrel friends and increased usage will continue. In 2018, Community Conservation involved American Chestnut trees and each year the number of viable chestnut trees continues to increase.
We anticipate the FoHVOS Bee abode initiative will follow a similar trajectory. If you are interested in monitoring a kestrel box or contributing an individual abode to the hotel, email info@fohvos.org.
An excerpt of this article appears in March’s Hopewell Valley Neighbors magazine.
