AP-PA--Pennsylvania News Digest, PA

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CLAYSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — The decline of the honeybee - the insect responsible for pollinating more than 100 crops, from apples and almonds to plums and zucchini - worries former McGuffey High School student Emily Brownlee. Three years ago, Brownlee put together a presentation about colony collapse disorder and the plight of honeybees, which have been dying by the tens of millions since 2006. Brownlee's passion and enthusiasm struck a chord with Superintendent Erica Kolat and Assistant Superintendent Laura Jacob, who were in the audience. They attended a bee convention to gather information about integrating bees into the school curriculum and pursued grants and funding to purchase and raise beehives on a secluded section of the campus. The goal is twofold: to educate students about honeybees and to help play a role in the bees' preservation. In spring 2015, agriculture teacher and FFA adviser Renee Cambruzzi landed a $5,000 Lowe's Toolbox for Education grant, which the district used to purchase and install fencing for the beehives, and to buy a storage shed for tools, landscaping and hardscaping materials and perennials. Another driving force behind the project was a $750 grant from Southwestern Pennsylvania Woodland Owners Organization in memory of the late Dr. Robert Daley of Claysville, a professor at University of Pittsburgh's Department of Computer Science, who was a member of the organization and maintained an interest in beekeeping. Bedillion Bee Farm donated two hives, and Dadant & Son Bee Co. donated supplies. The beehives were successful in the fall, but the bees did not survive the winter, Cambruzzi said. This year, the school purchased four bee boxes (each contains as many as 10,000 bees), and the students will be able to extract the honey to sell next year. Cambruzzi said students also plan to make and sell beeswax products. The beekeeping program is tied to the school's Future Farmers of America program, and Cambruzzi said the bees have been integrated into the vo-ag horticulture and animal science classes. Some students also will work with the bees as part of a Supervised Agricultural Experience, a graded project students are required to complete outside of the classroom. "We're excited to get this growing. We want to grow it more and incorporate it into more classes throughout the district," said Cambruzzi. "We talk about the impact of honeybees. In our introduction to agriculture class, we talk about where your food comes from, and how and where is it produced. You'd be surprised how, even to our farm kids, it's such a surprise to them the importance of bees." Honeybees perform about 80 percent of all pollination worldwide, so if healthy populations of those pollinators disappear, crop yields will be adversely impacted. Cambruzzi said interest in the program has been high. "The bees have provided opportunities for our students to learn about biology, pollination, the bee industry and product production," said Cambruzzi. She said the high school students also love to teach others about bees, and as part of the elementary science curriculum, they transported the bees - in an observation hive they built - to the district's annual Got Ag? Day at the West Alexander Fair, where they taught second-graders about the honeybees. "A project like that brings to life anything you see in science," said Jacob. "We're proud of our kids for doing this and we're happy to say the kids really enjoy it." As part of the bees' care, students provide sugar water and pollen packs for the hives, and Cambruzzi plans to plant additional flowers for another pollen source for the bees. "It's a learning curve, honestly," said Cambruzzi. "This has been great for the kids. We want to do more with the bees, and we're getting there." ___ Online: http://bit.ly/299xPu1 ___ Information from: Observer-Reporter, http://www.observer-reporter.com

McGuffey buzzing about bees as students keep hives