Junior Faith Macchione first learned about beekeeping during her freshman year while completing a Girl Scout requirement – called a journey – about the importance of bees in the environment. After being exposed to the subject of bees, she helped to form the Beekeeping Program at PV with biology teacher Kristen Lindstrom, the advisor of the club.

“I’ve chosen to work with the topic of honey bees decreasing in population,” Macchione said. “They are really important for [the environment] for many different reasons, so I am trying to spread awareness about the issue and what people can do to help in their everyday lives.”

During the pandemic, the Beekeeping Club gave presentations and brought in guest speakers over Google Meet. With the 2020-21 school year being the first year for the club, students have shown a “surprising” amount of interest, according to Macchione. 

“I think there were roughly around 50 kids who showed up,” Macchione said. “We have been holding virtual meetings. Obviously, the Beekeeping Club is a very hands-on club with the hives, but right now we are doing what we can. We do presentations about bee biology and we are planning to do a virtual hive tour.”

Macchione’s goal is to spread the word about this cause; however, the Beekeeping Club is not the only way she is attempting to educate the community. She created a website with information regarding this topic and partnered with the Hillsdale Environmental Commission – a branch of the local government that works with issues such as wildlife preservation and the environment. Macchione also spread awareness on social media and organized events that informed others on the hardships of bees. 

“[The Hillsdale Environmental Commission] regularly mentors scouts in projects – probably about one or two [projects] every few years,” Meredith Kates, the Hillsdale Environmental Commission’s Chair of Commissions said. “And if it’s a project that directly relates to something environmental, like planting a garden or educating the public, [we] do outreach. We work on how to get the [girl scouts’] messages out to the public.” 

In Macchione’s last step of her beekeeping project, she and Lindstrom are planting a native pollinator garden with perennial plants for the honey bees.

The garden will be outside Lindstrom’s room, which is across from the beehive. 

Macchione took steps to further educate herself in this field by taking a course at the New Jersey Beekeepers Association after Landi Simone, a master beekeeper, recommended her. 

“They teach you everything you need to know – it’s like class,” Macchione said. “They just sat there and explained it all to us. [Before COVID-19, they planned for us] to have a field day where they would show us the beehives. It has been cool [and] there is a lot of information to learn [that] my project doesn’t even go into.” 

Throughout this process, Macchione said she was able to step out of her comfort zone and take on leadership roles.

“If I don’t put in the work, then [my project] isn’t going to get done – I need to be determined to run it,” Macchione said. “That’s a huge part of [creating my project] – no one is there next to me.”