By Lynn SHER

Last Thursday students from La Crescenta Elementary’s Garden Club attended an in-depth presentation about bees by Mary Landau and Jay Weiss of the LA County Beekeepers Association. According to its website, the LA County Beekeepers Association formed in 1873 “to foster the interest of bee culture and beekeeping within Los Angeles County.” Its primary purpose is “the care and welfare of the honeybee.”

The students appeared to already understand the significance of bees for their garden’s success as they eagerly absorbed all that Landau and Weiss had to say. At the end of the presentation, students asked too many questions for the pair to answer. Landau, using a giant bee she created for the demonstration, gave detailed descriptions about the different classifications of bees and their physical structures and Weiss gave an exciting talk focused on how bees communicate with each other and hive dynamics.

After the presentations, some children gathered around the observation hive that Weiss brought in where they could observe a real beehive in action without the risk of being stung. He pointed out a funny little wiggle dance that some bees were doing.

“See that right there?” he asked. “That’s called the ‘waggle dance’ … they’re communicating, telling each other where the food is.”

Madison, a current member of the Garden Club, is not afraid of bees.

“They’re cool,” Madison said. “At home, there’s a small beehive in the bushes where there are a lot of bees.” She said she knows how important they are for gardens everywhere.

Anna Judy De Torre, who started the Garden Club last year with Jade Brookbank, said, “About 130 to 140 kids have come through [the Garden Club] so far … it’s been really popular.”

Henry, a student at La Crescenta Elementary, previously attended the Garden Club and loves gardening.

“In the summer I usually do a garden in my backyard with my mom and dad,” he said. So he was very excited for the chance to create a garden at school.

Each group meets for four or five sessions when they learn the basics of gardening from De Torre, who is a master gardener.

According to the University of California, Dept. of Agriculture and Natural Resources, “Master gardeners are trained by specialists and other qualified instructors who use research-based information to promote environmentally responsible and sustainable horticultural practices in the home, community and school landscapes.”

Although the group was extra large due to the special guests, usually groups consist of 20 to 25 students.

De Torre emphasized the significance of bees.

“Something like two out of every three bites of food that we eat comes either directly or indirectly from bees,” she said. She warned that the disappearance of bees would result in the loss of the Earth’s food supply. Thankfully, there are societies of people dedicated to protecting and populating these little pollinators … people like Weiss who is obviously passionate about bees and has been beekeeping for 20 years.

When asked if he gets attached to his bees like someone would to a beloved pet, he replied, “There are so many bees … you get attached to the hive,” adding, “If you lose your bees, you’re like, ‘I need my fix. I need my bees.’”

So yes, he is attached – he needs his bees. And whether we know it or not … so do we.