One of the keystone programs of Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay is youth empowerment. Our chapter President, Marlene Smith, has been mentoring Esther Bonney, WOCB chapter member and Founder/President of Nurture Natives, since the two met at a local University of Maryland Extension 4-H project on pollinators in January 2022. Together, the two have partnered on numerous initiatives that support their shared passions of native plants and conservation of biodiversity.
It came as no surprise that when Wild Ones announced their partnership with Crown Bees last fall and launched their free “Build A Bee House” workshop kits for chapters to use in educational programs, Marlene and Esther jumped into action to bring the program to southern Maryland.
It was standing room only at our inaugural “Building Habitat for Native Bees” program on March 20, conducted by Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay and Nurture Natives, at the James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center. Thirty-nine students and several teachers learned about pollinators & pollination, honeybees & solitary bees, mason bees & their lifecycle, and how to build & install bee houses.
Natural Resources Management instructor and Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay member, Dorothy Birch, explained that the bee program supports an initiative of SkillsUSA, which is “a national program that focuses on career-technology students, helping them to compete and succeed in getting jobs based on their outstanding skills and excellent professionalism. As a part of the annual competition, SkillsUSA chapters are encouraged to accomplish (and then document) community service projects.”
Dorothy gathered the SkillsUSA students in her Natural Resources Management class at Forrest Tech, along with students from the autobody, electrical, and Information Technology classes, to build a total of eighteen bee houses. Next, Dorothy’s students will oversee bee house installation in at least nine local native gardens throughout the community. We will continue to follow the students through the installation of the beehouses to help with photo and video documentation of their SkillsUSA project.
“Founding Nurture Natives has been a journey of growth—not just for me, but for the thousands of young people I’ve worked with. It’s taught me how to lead, problem-solve, and bring a vision to life, which are the very skills that SkillsUSA fosters. Through projects like Building Habitat for Native Bees, we are helping young people develop confidence, work together, and take initiative as the next generation of environmental leaders.” ~ Esther Bonney, Founder and President, Nurture Natives.
Special shout out to Wild Ones and Crown Bees for their partnership that allowed local chapters to bring this program to their communities, supporting the Wild Ones vision of native plants and natural landscapes in every community.
This initiative is part of a grant-funded project tied to Wild Ones’ 2024 partner grant from Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) and the U.S. Forest Service International Programs (USFS) to enhance our youth-based offerings.
