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Bee “101” Our Fascinating Bees Grant

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“Bee Friendly, Bee Loving, Bee Kind, and most of all Bee yourself.”
–Apiarist Britt Hopper

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Bees, spaceman, blue tubes, and boxes!

There are many devastating challenges facing us if we lose the precious honey bee through colony collapse caused by climate change and unsustainable use of herbicides and pesticides.  Through apiarist Britt Hopper’s own passion for the bees and Robin Macy’s Bartlett Arboretum ecosystems, both have discovered that the tenuous ecological future lies as much in the hands of our youth as it ever has throughout all of human history.

In 2013 Hopper helped Bartlett Arboretum establish their bee colony, now numbering eight hives.  In addition he is presenting Bees 101 (his bees and presentation about the bees, and bee-sticks full of varied honeys) for Second Sunday Salon — A cornucopia of Culture programming held in Bartlett’s historic train depot.  Nestled in a 100-year -old forest canopy, the 135 -year-old Santa Fe Railroad depot is located at the edge of the Arboretum property.  In 2013-2014, the depot became a restored sunny studio that attracts a creative community inspired to escape to a rural retreat to create , educate and be inspired just 20 miles south of Wichita, Kansas.  Also, at the same time Hopper took Bees 101 to more than 500 students in schools throughout central Kansas.

With Amaterra’s grant, Hopper will be able to expand the number of hives both at his home-base in Valley Center, Kansas and the Arboretum in Belle Plaine, Kansas. The goal is to increase honey production by 30% and support local pollination. Hopper will work with educators Connie Bonfy MAE, Nancy Holman MSE, and Robin Macy MSE to create Bee Happy — Bees 101educational activity book for youth grades 2-5.  The activity will contain curriculum-specific activities in science and arts infused with activities by grade level to help students learn and retain the information he demonstrates and shares with them during classroom visits.  As an aid to their grade level science curriculum, Bee Happy will help classroom educators teach Kansas youth about bee colony collapse as well as the broader issues of climate change and the other negative forces that threaten the health of bees thereby reinforcing Hopper’s presentations. Through Amaterra’s support Hopper will be able to increase Bees 101 presentations  to students both in the schools and Bartlett Arboretum school tours (30 classes per year) to reach at least 1500 students grades 2-5 each year beginning in the 2014 school year.

(above adapted from original grant proposal by Ms. Connie Bonfy)

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student “thank-you” letter

The Kansas State Department of Education has adopted A Framework for K-12 Science Education Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas(2012) as the core science curriculum and standards of what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. This core curriculum along with art standards for each grade level will be used to develop Bee Happy which will contain puzzles, games and art projects that children can enjoy while learning in the classroom and at home with their families. Grant arranged by Amaterra member Jerry Harney and grant writer Connie Bonfy.

Thank you Amaterra

To Amaterra,

I am very humbled and very grateful. Your generous gift means so much to Bee University/Bees 101. I’ve been doing this on my own. Teachers would ask if I would come teach about bees. They would inform me there is nothing in the budget to have me come. But would I come anyway? My answer has always been yes. Sometimes teachers try to bless me out of their own pocket.
$15. Every now and then. I never asked for compensation from them.
I’ve found that old ears do not hear.  Bees are dying. Oceans are dying. Water is being misused. So it occurred to me to educate children of any age, any one that would hear. So I started Bee University/Bees 101. My motto is “Bee Friendly Bee Loving Bee Kind and most of all Bee yourself.”

The Honey Bee is one of a kind. The benefits from the honeybee and the hive is a major lifeline for all mankind. So to change the future I’ve taken the importance of the honeybee to children. With your help it will be done to more schools and to more listening ears.  Ears that can change the environmental course that we are on. The end result a better future a healthier world.

I am very grateful and humbled by your generosity and support. Thank you! We say/hear that every day thank you. I’m typing it in this letter it’s often taken for granted those simple words. But for me I’m screaming inside on the tallest hill Kansas has to offer with gratitude. Thank you. Thank you for being a game changer. Thank you for caring for the future of children and mankind everywhere.

With warm regards,

B.E.e Hopper

Education, Funded Projects, Grants, North America, , , , , , ,

Native Seeds Search Grant 2013

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Native Seeds Search Grant 2013

Native Seeds/SEARCH was named as the recipient of a $1000 grant for 2013. Their mission statement best describes the nature of this rapidly growing organization.

Native Seeds/SEARCH conserves, distributes and documents the adapted and diverse varieties of agricultural seeds, their wild relatives and the role these seeds play in cultures of the American Southwest and northwest Mexico. We promote the use of these ancient crops and their wild relatives by gathering, safeguarding, and distributing their seeds to farming and gardening communities. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Tucson, Arizona.

In April of this year, Danielle Johnson, who recently received a Master’s degree in social anthropology, along with four other impressive apprentices, was selected to assist at the NS/S farm and learn the process of conserving seeds. They were given room and board in exchange for 30 hours of work a week.  All of these interns put in a lot of extra time—planting, dealing with an infestation of squash bugs, harvesting the seed and working on special events for the organization. But Danielle put in more than 150 hours beyond those devoted to the other activities when she agreed to take on an extra project, The Seed Diaries.

This project was inspired by an art exhibit, Sacred Places: Watercolour Diaries of the American Southwest by Tony Foster. Each of his paintings was accompanied by topographic maps, his journal entries, and sketches of local flora and fauna that, in the words of Belle Starr, Deputy Director of Native Seeds/SEARCH, gave the viewer “a much more engaged and curious appreciation of the natural settings captured on the canvas. More than just beautiful images to be casually observed, through the attending materials the landscapes began to come alive with a complex, multi-layered story.”

In what she described as an “aha moment,” she thought about the possibility of using this approach to tell the stories of the seeds in the NS/S collection. A discussion with an art professor who was also at the exhibit led to a meeting with Bobby Long, a professor of illustration at the U of A. He agreed to take on the Seed Diaries as a project for a fall semester class. In October students in the class visited the NS/S Conservation Center for a presentation by Executive Director Bill McDorman and a tour of the Seed Bank. Danielle also volunteered to give a presentation, telling the students stories of the seeds, and to curate a sampling of 25 seeds from the collection. She photographed the seeds and plant materials and sent these photos along with information on each seed—origin, use, cultural importance, etc.—to the class, at which point each of them selected a seed to work with.

Danielle continued to devote her time to this project, visiting the class along with Melissa Kruse-Peeples, the NS/S Collections Manager, to work individually with the students. The results of the project, now completed, will be displayed at one of the University galleries, and Janos Wilder has suggested displaying them at some point at his Downtown Kitchen.

The Seed Diaries would not have happened had Danielle not graciously agreed to take on this ambitious project because, in Belle’s words, “she believed so solidly in its ability to inspire and viscerally change the way people look at and experience our seeds. As one student exclaimed upon leaving his visit at the Conservation Center, ‘This was 500 times more interesting than I expected.’”

The grant, this year, goes to compensate the unpaid apprentices for the incredible work they performed for Native Seeds Search during 2013. These funds are to be distributed at the discretion of Bill McDorman, Executive Director and Belle Starr, Deputy Director, under whose creative and inspiring leadership this organization is wildly flourishing. We thank Director Nancy Wall for arranging this grant.

Central and Latin America, Funded Projects, Grants, North America, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ZEROwaste Project 2013

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ZEROwaste Project

In 2012-13 Amaterra has provided a $1000.00 micro-grant to support the ZEROwaste project in Albuquerque, NM. The project was devised by an employee from Soilutions, Inc., http://www.soilutions.net/, named John Shaski (Ski). The premise of the project is to engage and encourage both vendors and market attendees about the process and importance of waste classification and sorting. During the Downtown Growers’ Market trash cans are removed and collection stations are set-up throughout the public park.

Each station asks people to sort their trash into three categories, recyclables, compostables, and trash. At the end of each growers’ market Ski takes the recyclables and compostables, and leaves the remaining trash for the Downtown Albuquerque Action Team. The team is responsible for cleaning the park and disposing of the trash after the growers’ market.

The ZEROwaste project currently is supported by volunteers with some support from Soilutions Inc. Soilutions Inc. provides the containers at each sorting station and a truck to haul the recyclables/compostables away. This is not a money making venture for Soilutions Inc. or Ski, but a means to introduce waste reduction and management concepts to participants at a community event such as the local growers’ market.

Amaterra determined that the best way to support this project would be to provide funding for the creation and production of educational materials detailing the classification and end-use pathways for each type of waste material collected at the growers’ market and to provide an annual report detailing how much waste was collected and then diverted to either a recycling or composting center. The goal of this project is to help educate not just the general public but also local decision markers about the importance of sorting the waste that is generated at community events. If this project is successful it can be scaled to include other growers’ markets in the Albuquerque area, and possibly other community events.

The project was arranged by our Vice President, Shawn Hardeman, supporting this endeavor with direct community involvement.

Dr. Irwin-
As team leader for the ZEROwaste initiative I wanted to contact you in appreciation for the Amaterra grant we received.

In our 2011 effort to collect and recycle ALL waste generated at the Downtown Grower’s Market we managed just over one ton of material.  84% of that material was found to be readily recyclable.

Our success flies in the face of assumed public apathy and highlights the inadequacy of the available infrastructure.

We are currently engaged in a re-branding of the ZEROwaste_initiative that will raise its profile substantially.  Future plans include expanded infrastructure and manageability that will allow us to broaden the scale. More eyes and ears, more material recovered, more momentum towards a more efficiently managed waste stream.

Please kindly take stock in the nurturing role Amaterra has taken in this endeavor.  We’ll be sure to let others know.

Regards, John ‘Ski’ Shaski

Funded Projects, Grants, North America, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2013 Washed Ashore Project

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2013 Washed Ashore Project

fishtrashsmallThis project uses giant sea life sculpture made entirely of marine debris to teach children and adults how to help save our seas. A $1000 grant in 2013, arranged by Board member Joe Swaffar, helps develop educational materials for the classroom.

Look at the program and a more detailed view of the project by opening their PDF:

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Funded Projects, Grants, , , , , , , , ,

Gerdemann Botanical Preserve and Garden – 2012 – 2013

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2012-13 Scenes along the Gerdemann Botanical Preserve and Garden public nature path built with the assistance of Amaterra

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The trail starts here!

Located in Yachats, Oregon, the preserve’s mission and  activities parallel the mission statement of Amaterra and make it a worthy recipient of one of our $1000 micro-grants. Gerdemann Botanical Preserve and Garden is the life’s work of plant pathologist, Dr. James Gerdemann, who collected plant specimens and seeds from his world travels and labored to adapt them to the unique climate of the central Oregon coast.  The 3.5 acre protective conservation easement contains numerous plant species, many of which he created, while emphasizing rhododendron  (700 plants), magnolia and cacti.

The conservators/owners, Jerry and Kathleen Sand, manage the site. They facilitate educational programs and research and apprenticeship opportunities with the state universities. Also, they foster  public access via tours and  children’s programs.

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Moms and Tots on the Public Footpath, entering the wetland boardwalk sedge section midst native hemlock and spruce trees.

Detailed information and many excellent photos can be accessed at  their web-site, gerdemanngarden.org.

Amaterra’s grant was used to promote public access to the site and enhance the educational experience of visitors.   A system of durable identification signage was purchased and installed on a public trail at an estimated cost of $300.  The remaining $700 funded a raised-access segment of the trail through a micro-wetlands section created by a spring and creek.  Both activities enhance public use and the educational impact of this unique site.

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Looking across the bridge

A small bridge over Mitchell Creek with steps leading to Rhododendron ‘David’ and old English hybrid.

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Flower Arches

Large Rhododendron ‘Wisp’ arch over the Public Footpath, in full bloom March-April.

This grant was arranged by
Amaterra Director, Joe Swaffar

Funded Projects, Grants, North America, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Camp E.L.I.T.E. 2013

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2013 Zambia E.L.I.T.E. project

Be Strong. Be Equal. Be Elite – Empowering Leaders in Training and Education

In 2013 Amaterra has provided a $1000 micro-grant to support Camp E.L.I.T.E., a leadership and empowerment program designed for young men aged 14-18. The camp focuses on eighth grade students in Zambia. Two young men will be selected from their community and accompanied by a mentor to attend the week-long seminar. The camp is designed to encourage gender equality, equity, and life skills development. The program for boys will focus on Leadership, Gender Roles, Communication, Safer Sexual Practices, HIV/AIDS, Sports, Teamwork, and Life Skills. Upon completion, these young men will return to their community and work with their mentor to reach out and teach others in the community. This project is similar and parallels the “GLOW” project for young women.

During the ELITE camp, each of the boys will partner with a boy from another community, and will work with a LIFE (Linking Income with Food and Environment) Peace Corps Volunteer. These LIFE PCVs will work hand in hand with the boys to teach them and then assist them in learning how to plant fruit trees in the orchard at Mansa Secondary School. There will be a minimum of 15 groups, each planting a tree.

We will also be giving each boy one tree to take home and plant at their homes. They will be equipped with knowledge regarding Agroforestry and integrated conservation farming utilizing trees in their fields and gardens, and will be linked to three organizations in the Mansa Provincial capital that will provide them with access to trees and resources in the future.

Each Group of boys will also receive specialized, Zambia focused environmental education on the importance of trees. We’ve invited the DFO – Which is the District Forestry Officer – from the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture, under the Forestry Department, to lead a presentation on the importance of trees and the protection of the environment. This is specifically focused on preventing the Chitemene (slash and burn) model, and on encouraging natural resource management – working to combat the massive forest and brush consumption by the rural charcoal production industry. As this is a major income source in rural communities, this is particularly vital in conservation efforts.

Their final Agriculture focused sessions will dive into Integrated agriculture, agribusiness, and IGAs. We will have a presentation from highly successful local farmers who come from a village and rural background and poultry keepers on how to start up IGAs and what good business practices are. We will also talk a bit about cash crop agriculture and ask the boys to come up with a crop suitable for their area that could be grown to be sold at market, these crops will then be sourced (if seed is available) for their use to start a demo plot. As almost all participants are subsistence growers, this introduction to business skills and sustainable/eco positive crops is another essential part of the development cycle, both for income generation, and for land productivity.

GRANT ARRANGED BY DAVID BERGER AND FUNDED AUGUST, 2013.
Africa, Funded Projects, Grants, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Camp GLOW – Zambia 2013

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2013 Zambia “GLOW” Project

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Glow Camp staff

A $1000 grant from Amaterra has been provided to Peace Corps Volunteers (PVSs) for a program empowering young women in Zambia, Africa. The program focuses on 8th grade school students. Each Peace Corps Volunteer brought two young women and a mentor (one adult) from their communities, to participate in a week long empowerment camp. The camp focused on life skills, women’s rights, sexual health, nutrition, and leadership. Also the young women were taught about good food, the dangers of teenage pregnancy, communication, and good farming practices. Of special significance for the mission of Amaterra, each participant learned about home/kitchen gardens, composting, income generating agricultural activities focusing on sustainable practices, and food security.

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Glow Camp participants

After the camp the two participants and their mentor returned to their community with the Peace Corps Volunteer, over the next six months the young women and PCV formed a GLOW (Girls Leading our World) club in their community and recruited young women in each zone to share the lessons they’ve learned and help support each other. The goal is that by the end of six months a minimum of 300 young women will have been trained and receive support from this program across the province. Six months after (within a year of their initial training) the groups will be asked to coordinate with their Peace Corps Volunteer and host Learning Exchanges with local schools and nearby communities, sharing their experiences, lessons, and successes/failures.

Those young women they select in the community will be asked to form their own GLOW groups which will support each other within their WARD. The groups are encouraged to be self-sustainable from the beginning with the PCV’s acting as  mentors, co-facilitators and supporters, not leading or dominating the programs activities.   Amaterra Board Director, David Berger is in Zambia and has worked to help set up this program. We have been informed that, without our grant, the program could not have become a reality: a perfect partnership for Amaterra.

The grant is being monitored by the Peace Corps volunteers with oversight by Peace Corps Administration with David providing additional monitoring and oversight on behalf of AMATERRA. See the video montage of the training, featuring the young women, their mentors, and the facilitating PCVs.

Thank you Director David Berger for arranging this one.

Africa, Funded Projects, Grants, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Native Seeds/SEARCH 2012 Grant

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Native Seeds/SEARCH 2012 Grant

2012 Grant for Native Seeds/SEARCH

For many years Amaterra and members have supported Native Seeds/SEARCH, a non-profit conservation organization based in Tucson, Arizona.

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…so many possibilities

Since 1983, they have become a major regional seed bank and a leader in the heirloom seed movement. Their seed bank is a unique resource for both traditional and modern agriculture. It includes 1800 varieties of arid-land adapted agricultural crops, many of them rare or endangered. They promote the use of these ancient crops and their wild relatives by distributing seeds to traditional communities and to gardeners world wide. Currently they offer 350 varieties from the collection grown out at their Conservation Farm in Patagonia, Arizona. Also, many of their seeds and associated products are offered through an online store, annual seedlisting, and retail store.

During the past couple of years, Bill McDorman, the Executive Director of Native Seeds Search, and Belle Starr, the Deputy Director, have instituted and conducted a number of one-week Seed Schools in Tucson, drawing people from all over the country. Their goal: “to inspire and empower a diverse selection of new ‘seed citizens’–passionate growers, inventive breeders, and careful curators of the planet’s tiny life-conducting jewels.” The passion of these two individuals for seeds is awe-inspiring.

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squash blossoms

Because the Tucson Seed Schools have become so popular, there is now a need to widen the program and conduct the schools in locations throughout the United States, as many participants at the Tucson school have asked that Bill and Belle come to their state to do so–particularly in light of the drought that is affecting so much of the country. This will require new curriculum to include information for a wider range of growing areas.

For those who would like to learn more about the organization, check out their website www.nativeseeds.org/.

This grant was arranged by Amaterra Director, Nancy Wall.

Central and Latin America, Funded Projects, Grants, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Sierra Ancha Project 1995 – 1996

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The Sierra Ancha Project 1995 – 1996

Sari6_r1_c2The project sought to document cliff dwellings and other prehistoric sites in the Cherry Creek area of east-central Arizona.  In 1995 and 1996, major expeditions were mounted to revisit all of the cliff dwellings and other sites recorded since 1981, and to conduct additional survey work to locate new sites in middle Cherry Creek.  Four weeks were spent each fall with dozens of volunteers from all over the world.  Over the two seasons, nearly 20 cliff dwellings were fully documented and more than 40 new sites were recorded.  The documentation involved completion of more than 1700 forms, 40 rolls of black and white film, and over 20 rolls of color slide film.  We now have a great dataset of site condition at this point in time, and learned a tremendous amount about the construction and remodeling of the sites.  We also placed long-term temperature recording devices and have thousands of lines of data documenting diurnal temperature fluctuations in the sites and in the canyons.  These data show the importance of passive solar heating in the siting of these villages.

“The project was made possible by the Tonto National Forest; Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona; Statistical Research, Inc.; Earthwatch; and Amaterra.  Without the help of Amaterra, the field projects in 1995 and 1996 would not have been possible.  Amaterra supplied a vehicle, a large tent, a generator, a camp kitchen with complete set of cooking and other supplies, water system, housing for participants, and the labor to put up and take down the camp each field season.  These items and assistance made a very difficult and primitive camp situation bearable, and even enjoyable, for the staff and volunteers.  The staff and volunteers offer their deepest thanks for the support.  Your invaluable help made the project possible!”

-Rich Lange, Project Director

Direct Involvement, Education, Funded Projects, Grants, North America, , , , , , ,

The Tumamoc Hill Desert Laboratory 1992 – 1994

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Tumamoc Hill Desert Laboratory 1992 – 1994

     saguarostumamocThe Desert Laboratory was founded in 1903 by the Carnegie Institution to further arid lands research. Scientists early on established permanent vegetation research plots on Tumamoc Hill, an 869-acre preserve now surrounded by Tucson city development. Some of these same plots continue to be studied making the Desert Laboratory one of the longest environmental reasearch projects in history. Today the photographs and collections of the laboratory form the basis of understanding of how our present environment is part of a long continuum of desert change.

Amaterra provided mailing list soft-ware, helped create a newsletter, and participated in fund raisers to raise public awareness and support for the Desert Laboratory.

OUR THANKS TO AMATERRA

“This newsletter would not be possible without the enthusiastic support, energy and skills of Amaterra, a non-profit organization in service to the Earth.

Amaterra sponsors caretaking projects throughout the Southwest: at Sand Canyon Pueblo in Colorado for over a period of eight years, they cataloged plants and animals, collected meteorological data, and built a field research support facility for Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. At the Nature Conservancy’s Canelo Hills Preserve near Sonoita, Arizona, they restored some of the preserve’s nineteenth century buildings and provided round the clock caretaking for two and a half years.

Amaterra has now chosen Tumamoc Hill and the Desert Lab as a place worthy of protection, preservation and sponsorship. Our deep thanks especially go to Roger Irwin, president, board member Otis Bronson and Advisory Committee Member Nancy Wall. Otis Bronson, in particular, is contributing his skills as layout editor for Tumamoc. Amaterra donated the Filemaker Program which has facilitated our communication and record keeping beyond measure! Finally, Amaterra contributes significant financial support for the publication of our newsletter. Muchas gracias,” Martha Ames Burgess, Editor (October, 1993)

Find out more about Tumamoc today at: http://tumamoc.arizona.edu/

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