Back From Vacation!

Hey there! I hope everybody is having a great summer and doing many wonderful things! I also hope that between relaxing and more relaxing, you all thought about some projects we could do! I did and I think I came up with one or two promising ideas. My first idea is to donate money to the conquer pediatric chiari foundation. Chiari is a little known disease with many symptons that make the patient suffer constantly. There is no known cure and since the disease is so little known about, it is hard for scientists to get enough money and conduct research. Feel free to look up this disease and the stories of the kids who have to go through it. So where did I go on vacation you ask? To Wyoming! To visit the mountains and some very good friends. While we were there we went hiking, biking, boating, and almost parasailing. We saw marmots, moose, bears, and swans. But one of our more exciting wildlife sightings was of the pika. After learning more about the pika I decided that this would be a really cool project, to somehow help the pika. The pika is a small squirrel type animal that can only live in an elevation of 6,600 to 13,000 feet. Because of there hindering elevation needs and mostly because of climate change, the pika is almost extinct. These are only two possible ideas and while I think together we could get far with them, I would love to hear everybody's thoughts and comments. Tell me what inspires you to make a difference. See ya all next time!

Lets Get Crackin!

Hey there everybody! I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. I know I am! Going to the pool, chilling with a good book, or hanging out with friends. But no amount of summer fun or ice creams can wash away the fact that there are still a ton of things that we need to do to help our community and our world. But what? What problem should we pick to conquer? So leave a comment, tell me what you think is the most pressing urge on this place we call home. Lets work together and solve a matter that is pressing upon our lives. So when you are sitting and watching tv or going for a walk, talk five minutes and think about what we can do together.

-Mollie

BEES!!!

A couple days a go we got bees in our tubes!!! How do we know this????? because of the mud in the tube! The bee carries mud into the tube and lays eggs behind it. So I haven't actually seen the bees but I know they are there! I will upload a picture to this blog as soon as I find the camera connector cable.

Yesterday my mom and I went to visit Sam Droege and give him the bee tubes so that he could mail them to everyone. After we gave him the tubes he took us in the woods where he was conducting an experiment (are bees more attracted to styrofoam cups or plastic solo cups). The cups were all filled with soapy water that killed the bees when they went in. We went around documenting how many bees were in each cup, after that Sam would pour the bees and the water through a little net where he would later pick out all the bees for preservation. I recorded how many bees were in each cup and the results were obvious:bees really didn't like the styrofoam cups.

In Sam's office I took some pictures of Osmia bees he has. He also gave us two trays of bees to take home and show to the schools.

It was a very successful trip and tomorrow we will be putting out the bee nests!!!

Bee Trap Nests

I just finished making the very first successful bee trap nest! Besides the other two mess-ups with the trap nests, the project has been smooth sailing so far. Here are two tips when building the trap nests: 1. The holes for nine of the tubes SHOULD be breaking the edge of the foam. The tubes will brace themselves between the bottle and the foam. 2. You will not be able to read the numbers if written directly on the foam, I found it easier to put little pieces of duct tape on the foam and write the numbers on that.

Once again the instructions can be found at:http://www.discoverlife.org/bee/opp/design.html.

E-mail me at soccermollie@gmail.com or osmiaozzy@gmail.com if you have any questions!

If you want to participate and haven't spoken up-sorry I have to e-mail the list to Sam Droege (Bee expert extraordinaire) who will send out the tubes.

Bee Project Update

Here's the e-maiI sent out to a bunch of people that helped me with the Polar Bear Project!

Hey everyone! It's Mollie Passacantando giving you an update. But this time, it's not about Polar Bears....it's about the bees! And I hope you might want to help out too.

How this started: After my polar bear project, I was honored that the author T.A. Barron chose me as a winner of the 2008 Gloria Barron Prize (named for his mom). This came with a cash award which could be spent on education and/or activism. I was wondering what to spend it on -- what could I do next that could help do something good for the world? Meanwhile I was lucky enough to be introduced by the Barron Prize people to Gabriela Chavarria, who has been my mentor for two years. Gaby is a PhD in BUMBLEBEES. Then, coincidentally I saw a program on the bee's disappearance. I knew that was an omen. So, my mom and I began an outline for a project that would help protect bees.

We are working in partnership with Gaby, Sam Droege of the U.S. Geological Survey, and our neighbors and friends the Brower Family to start a project called Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom. Our school, and four others are going to help start a BRAND NEW monitoring project for the U.S.G.S. that will help track the effects of global climate change on nectar flow and bee populations. We will be making and observing Osmia bee trap nests. Osmia are STINGLESS bees (my principal was really happy about that) and we will be among the first people to be part of this project. We are going to be entering our observations into an on-line database.

The reason I'm telling you all this is that we need more people to do this monitoring project with us! We especially need people in different parts of the country. So here's my question for you: would you, your family or your office or school like to build a simple trap nest (it is easy and small, too) and be part of this project? If so, I am using some of my prize money to fund the purchase of the special "bee tubes" that are necessary for the project - and the USGS is sponsoring the mailing of the tubes. If you send me your name and mailing address, you will receive the material you need to build the nests, with easy instructions provided on line. but HURRY because if you want to place the nests they need to be out in early spring when the bees are first emerging.

The last thing I wanted to mention is that once again thanks to your efforts with the polar bear project, I was featured in the just-published Girls Gone Green, a book about girls that have done projects to save the environment. The girls in the book are amazing. They are scientists, fundraisers, farmers and advocates for the coolest causes. I am so honored to be included in this book with girls who have done so much. If you are interested in more about Girls Gone Green, here is the publisher's website about the book: http://www.penguin.com/girlsgonegreen

I will be regularly blogging on our bee project (www.savethearctic.blogspot.com) and linking to a new Wiki site we're developing so everyone who is part of the project can post comments about the project, in addition to contributing to the REAL database at the USGS.

That's it for now. Please let me know if you are interested in the bee project. And have a GREAT spring!

~Mollie

Here's the artwork developed for our bee project created by my friend Leigh Orleans. Do you like it? I think it is FANTASTIC!