Lesson Overview

When is the optimum time for cranberry growers to get bees for pollination?

Lesson Plan:

Overview
Background
Materials
Preparation
Step-by-Step

In this lesson students continue to manage the bog they selected in Adopt a Bog. This time students examine information to decide when honey bees (in rented hives) should arrive to ensure optimal pollination of the cranberry flowers. Students must also choose a date by which the bees should leave the bog. Once they have recorded their decisions, students receive feedback on how a bog would be expected to perform, given the choices they have made.

The information students receive and weigh includes: weather forecast data, a review of pollination, natural history of the honey and bumble bee, and risks of weeds being pollinated. This lesson heightens students’ awareness of the various roles that insects play in the cranberry bog—potential pests, supporter of the overall ecosystem health, and critical pollinator.