Bee population has experienced a dramatic decline over the last decades as the data say, bringing the colonies of some states in particular to record lows. We aimed at targeting farmers who can take action to effectively help to restore bee populations to sustainable levels, by using interactive questionnaires where the farmer can input his answers. We want to tell this story because it can have a positive impact on farmers practices, leading to a recovery for the bee population and better farmers products through a more aware use of pesticides.
These questionnaires are placed as touch-screens (e.g. iPads) in stores for farmers supplies, ideally closer to the check-out, where shoppers can be drawn to them by the questions. These questions consist of insights about the bee population decline over time across their state, and the impact that different pesticides can have on them. After entering their answer, the true value is shown on the screen, hopefully having a shock factor on the farmer.
As an additional form of interactivity, the person can scan a pesticide that they are going to purchase, to see the impact that it would lead to the environment (e.g. the drop of bee population that was due to using that mix of chemicals, etc.). The farmer can then be recommended a different type of pesticide, showing a lower degree of harm to the bee population and foods.
To form the questionnaires, we used the bee population dataset, analysing the statistics of bee colonies, beekeepers and loss of population by state. This can more effectively help target states individually with statistics more relevant to each, and having a digital questionnaire makes having one per state relatively easy to do.
The Bee Colonie Statistics data from data.world say that since the 1990s, there’s been a drastic decrease in honey bee populations, and this trend has continued until today. While honey bees have seen increases in some states, in some states they have seen decreases. This story about bee colonies is very complicated to tell because there is no certain cause for these changes and states behave differently. Therefore, we focus on one state for the sketch: California who used to have an enormous number of bee colonies and has seen drastic decreases over the last couple of decades.
Figure 1: Total Colonies by Top 5 States with Highest Colony Count from 1987-2017
We want to tell this story of bees in California because we want people to take action against climate change. We chose K-5th Grade as our audience because it is important to inform the younger generation what will become a huge problem very soon. Our goals are to warn this young audience about what’s happening to the bees by putting themselves in the shoes of the bees through this game and to encourage them to understand their own role in contributing positively to creating bee-friendly ecologies. With the tool of empathy in this game, we want to create the urgence for their actions.
Data sources we used are the Bee Colony Survey Data by State, Bee Colony Statistics, data.world. We think that this game is an appropriate and effective way to tell the data story because it can be difficult to relate to bees sometimes and feel urged to take action immediately. With this game we put the kids in the shoes of the bees and make them realize the increase in deaths of bee colonies while playing the game. When we give them the option of taking an action or not, we’re showcasing that they can change the future of bees, therefore themselves. After probing their curiosity and stimulating their emotions, we immediately suggest possible actions they can take to save the lives of the bees in real life.
We hope that teachers will incorporate this game into their curriculum and actually take action with their students on a dedicated day at their school or go visit a beekeeper with their students.
Students register for the game with their name and choose a state where they want to play the game in.
We chose to use the state of California for the sketch purpose, but the next iteration of this sketch would incorporate all the available states in the dataset.
We also chose to use three levels in our sketch, but the number of levels can be extended for the next iteration.
We represent the bee colonie data by changing the ratio of bee to buildings in each level.
Level 1: Player bee is in California in 1989 where there are 62,000 bee colonies.
[While switching to a new level, we state facts about the changes in the data.]
“In the last 25 years, HALF of your friends and their families died because of climate change. We are sorry for your loss.”
Level 2: Player bee is in 2016 where there are 31,000 bee colonies in California.
At the end of Level 2, we again give facts about the predicted changes in the data and ask the player whether they will take action or not.
“Without climate action, we estimate that you will be losing another half of your friends and their families in the next 25 years. Maybe you’ll be amongst those. Will you take action to save the lives of your friends and your family? Will you take action to save the bees?”
We ask them to choose one of these options:
A. Yes, I will take action. → Level 3A: 2040. Bee colonies numbers rose again and there are plenty of homes for the bees.
B. No, I won’t take action. → Level 3B: 2040. Bee lost another half of their friends and their families in the next 25 years.
At the end of the game, we encourage the player to take action by explaining what they can to take action and save the bees.
1 in every 3 bites of food is made possible by bees and other pollinators. Sadly, in 2017-2018, the US lost over 40% of managed beehives. To save the lives of your bee friends, you can take this action.
Everyone can make a positive impact to help bees and the environment. Feel the power of individual action! Learn what you can do to change the world – one bee and student at a time!
PLANT FOR POLLINATORS
Planting a pollinator garden helps honeybees immensely. Bees rely on the nectar and pollen from nearby flowers for their survival; when flowers are scarce, bees can starve. By planting a pollinator garden, you’re ensuring that bees have a source of food year round — just be sure your garden is pesticide free.
Want to learn which plants are right for your planting zone, or how to get organic seeds? Check out our Pollinator Gardenresource page.
GO PESTICIDE FREE
Pesticides are harmful to humans and worse for bees. The chemicals and pest control treatments used on lawns and gardens weaken bees, and are especially damaging if applied to flowers in full bloom. Research shows that neonicotinoid pesticides linger in the nectar and pollen of flowers, where bees are most likely to come into contact with them. These treatments weaken bee immune systems and make them more susceptible to disease and infestation by pests. For resources on bee-friendly means of pest control, read our Natural Pest Controlguide.
SWARM? NO PROBLEM
Swarming is a natural process that occurs when colonies of honey bees have outgrown their hive. If you see a swarm, contact a beekeeper’s association; many bee-conscious groups will collect swarms to keep or relocate them to a safer new home. Honeybees in a swarm are very gentle and present very little danger, but can be made aggressive if disturbed or sprayed with water. Just leave them alone and wait for help to arrive.
BE PART OF THE SOLUTION
Ecologists and researchers interested in honeybees have started reaching out to citizens for help in huge research projects. You can provide vital information to these projects, all of which add to our knowledge of what we can do to help the struggling honey bee. Check them out and get involved!
Planet Bee’s ZomBee Watch Project– A brand-new Citizen Science lesson created by Planet Bee and created in collaboration with Professor John Hafernik’s ZomBee Watch program. This 3-day lesson involves the construction of light traps in order to catch and examine “ZomBees”, or bees which have been parasitized by zombie flies.
The Great Sunflower Project – The world’s largest citizen science project, aimed at gaining a better understanding of pollinators and their conservation.
NASA Honeybee Net Study – investigates the relationship between plant and animal life cycles by measuring the weight of honeybee hives throughout the year.
