It's Better with Bees! A story of hope and collaboration

Shared Ground

Better with Bees is a student-run club focused on urban environmental sustainability at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, within the Sipekne'katik district of Mi'kma'ki.

In the words of Topsy Olatunji, a student member of Better with Bees: “Our project centers on involving the Mi'kmaw community in establishing a healing garden and a Wabanaki pollinator garden, topics I will delve into deeper in the episode. We aim to educate and cultivate environmental awareness on local bee populations and pollinators in our ecosystem.”

And from teacher Christopher Hall: “In the spring of 2022, Charles P. Allen High School (CPA) was approached by Alvéole, an urban beekeeping company, to house a beehive at the school. This beehive inspired the work that CPA’s Better With Bees does as a community change maker. Working with students we have developed a plan to not only make tangible impacts on climate change, but also to showcase a native species garden. By building a Wabanaki pollinator garden surrounding a Mi’kmaq Medicine Garden, we hope to demonstrate that gardening with native species is a beautiful urban possibility.”

Shared Ground host Amanda Bostlund was excited to speak with three of the many people involved in Better with Bees during Helping Nature Heal's 18th Seedy Saturday event in Bridgewater this February. Here's a bit about them, in order of appearance.

Topsy Olatunji is a proud member of The Better with Bees club at Charles P. Allen High School. As a member of both the media team and website subcommittee, she is consistently engrossed in their mission to promote sustainability within the urban environment.

Christopher Hall has been on staff at Charles P. Allen High School for 19 of his 26 years of teaching. Using both the academic setting and extracurricular activities, he is able to encourage students to draw on their strengths in the pursuit of meaningful goals.

Khaled Al-Sakkaf is a Grade 12 IB student who is deeply invested in the intersection of environmental sustainability. Currently, on Fridays, he devotes his time and skills to the Better with Bees Meadow Project, serving on the technology and data team. Through his involvement, he aims to harness his skills to drive positive change and sustainability initiatives. His commitment to volunteering reflects his belief in the power of innovation to address environmental challenges and create a better future for our planet.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Better with Bees website Instagram Youtube
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• From Sackville Rivers: “The Legend of the Petroglyph at Bedford Basin”
• RE3 conference
• Alvéole https://www.alveole.buzz/
• Ne’ata’q Food Forest at the Bluenose Academy in Lunenburg https://foodforestatbluenose.ca/
• Cortado Tasting Room on Facebook
• The She Shed

Other Shared Ground episodes mentioned:

• #19: Inspiration from a community food forest
• #4: A 3-pronged approach to sustainability with Rosmarie Lohnes

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