Let's Learn About the Pollinators at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park!
Pollinator Education in the Park
Over 85% of flowering plants rely on pollinators such as bees, butterflies, bats, flies, hummingbirds and a range of other animal to reproduce. Unfortunately, many pollinator populations, particularly bees, butterflies, and bats, are in decline due to habitat loss, diminished food resources, pesticides, and parasites. Studies show that pollinator education decreases fear and increases interest and increases willingness to protect these critters.
Peralta Hacienda Historical Park offers semester-based education programs and week-long summer programs for a variety of age ranges. In collaboration with the educators at the park, we created four 45-minute lesson plans tailored to the 6th grade participants as well as a 45 minute lesson plan and accompanying pollinator census data collection tool for the Park's high school student interns.
Below you can find links to the Pollinator Lesson Plans and the Pollinator Census. All plans can be adapted to different age groups and settings.
What is pollination?
Lesson 1: Flowers & Pollination
This lesson introduces the concepts of flower anatomy and pollination for sixth graders. The curriculum underscores how pollinators and plants can work together to build healthy ecosystems. The lesson includes an activity for students to run around the park and search for different examples of pollinator food sources and habitat.
What's going on inside a beehive?
Lesson 2: Honeybees & the Hive
This lesson introduces sixth graders to the western honey bee colony. Students learn how a bee hive operates and go on a scavenger hunt to find flowering plants using the worker bee waggle dance.
Why is pollination so important?
Lesson 3: Bees & Food Systems
This lesson introduces sixth graders to the role of pollination and bees in our food system, and conveys how bees contribute to the foods we enjoy every day. The lesson includes an activity to mimic the journey bees make to pollinate plants and helps students understand the types of edible plants that require pollination.
What do you do if you see a bee?
Lesson 4: Bees & Us!
This lesson focuses on the relationship between bees and humans (us!). The purpose of the lesson is to show sixth graders that bees are not harmful if left unbothered and that humans and bees have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship. The students have a chance to experience a benefit of bees by participating in a honey tasting.
Help our pollinators by taking the Pollinator Census today!
Tracking Pollinators through the Pollinator Census!
The final lesson is the Pollinator Census created for high school students. The lesson not only gives students the chance to learn about pollination and common plants and pollinators at the Park, but also practice valuable data collection skills. While the lesson itself was designed with high school students in mind, the Pollinator Census is open to everyone! We encourage all Park visitors to try out the Pollinator Census.