Melissa Bees – Pollinating the Earth with Gardens and Hives
Aiden Wood and Saylor Sundby of Hood River, Oregon, affectionately known as The Bee Men are on a mission to become honeybee stewards. They attended my beginning beekeeping class this spring and explained that they were on quest to visit honeybee experts across Oregon and Washington to learn about the plight of the bee and figure out what they could do to help. The two ten year-old boys’ quest was given wings and wheels by their mothers, Holly Higdon-Wood and Katie Sundby, who are a part of a home school group called The Gorge Discovery School, created expressly for this kind of experiential learning. By the time the boys buzzed into my class, they were already well-versed in the honeybees’ struggle from their travels. Sitting in the front row, they were quite observant students and asked thoughtful questions- the hallmarks of excellent beekeepers and problem solvers. Knowing ‘The Bee Men’ and their supportive families gives me a lot of hope for the bees and our futures! Check out the documentary The Bee Men made of their educational adventure, aptly titled ‘Save the Bees’: