This program offers a detailed look at pollinator biology and population management and ecology of honey bees and native pollinators. It is designed for students who have taken the spring and summer programs on honeybees and native pollinators, but fundamental biology material will be repeated for new students.
This pollinator program will collaborate with the Changemaker Lab (CML) at the Olympia campus and Organic Farm. The CML is an interdisciplinary hands-on opportunity for students interested in starting or developing sustainable non-profit and social purpose businesses and cooperatives. The CML facilitates learning about many business concepts and developing strategic business plans around sustainable businesses, social enterprises, and projects. Students will work in teams organized around the various honeybee and pollinator-related enterprises designed by the student and their teams. For more details on the Change Maker Lab, please read the Program Description for Change Maker Lab: Business Fundamentals, Team Entrepreneurship.
In the Changemaker portion of the program, students will will learn how to start and manage honey bee and native pollinator-related businesses and prepare honeybee hive products that meet all regulatory and legal requirements for selling food-grade products. Students will learn and work in collaborative, student-driven teams, practice servant leadership, and put their ideas into practice. The focus will be on team-based competencies in communication, management of pollinator-based projects, organizational behavior, and the business fundamentals needed to start and operate your own business.
Additionally, students will learn the nuances of monitoring and managing honey bees through the critical transition period of fall and preparing the hives for the challenges of winter. Students will also identify and analyze population size, feeding preferences, and habitat needs of fall pollinator species active in late summer and fall.
Those students who would prefer to focus strictly on the applied biology aspects of the program and not participate in the CML will be able to do so through individual and group projects and on-farm lectures and workshops.
Registration
Students who choose not to participate in ChangeMaker Lab must demonstrate a level of knowledge of honey bee management and native pollinators to allow them to do independent work.
First year students may be admitted with faculty permission.
Course Reference Numbers
Academic Details
Apiculture, NGOs, businesses in land management, and honey bee products, a Government regulator
$50 required lab fee
Upper-division science credit may be awarded in ecology upon completion of an independent research project. Students seeking to earn upper-division credit must contact the faculty to discuss options prior to the start of the quarter.
Schedule
Revisions
| Date | Revision |
|---|---|
| 2022-04-27 | $50 required lab fee added |
| 2022-04-25 | This program is now open to So-Sr (was Fr-Sr), but Fr may be considered with faculty signature. |