The Bee Lab participates in several annual public outreach events including the Applejack Festival at Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard in Nebraska City, Nebraska Game & Park's Pollinator Events, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Bugfest. Additionally, the lab is involved in several community partnerships to promote and boost conservation efforts across the state. Examples include the following:
AmeriCorps
Learn More About AmeriCorps
Lincoln Children's Zoo, Lincoln
We provide a small honey bee colony to the Lincoln Children's Zoo.
Learn More About the Lincoln Children's Zoo
Nebraska One Health
Nebraska One Health brings people together with diverse backgrounds, skills, and perspectives to improve the health of humans, animals, plants, and our shared environments.
Learn More About Nebraska One Health
Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard, Nebraska City
Learn More About Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard
Girl Scouts of Nebraska
Learn More About Girl Scouts of Nebraska
Nebraska Game & Parks Schramm Education Center, Papillion
Learn More About the NE Game & Parks Schramm Education Center
Kiewit Luminarium, Omaha
Learn More About Kiewitt Luminarium
Lauritzen Botanical Gardens, Omaha
We partner with Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha to sample for native bees that visit their beautiful botanical gardens. This helps them make informed decisions on how to plan their gardens for the next season to make their flowers more attractive to our bee friends.
Learn More About Lauritzen Gardens
Nebraska Extension Youth Programs (4H/Clover college)
Learn More About Nebraska 4H
Morrill Hall State Museum, Lincoln
We provide honey bees for the big observation hive at Morrill Hall in the science exploration zone. To maintain it, we have to carry the observation hive out on the roof where we trade frames of bees and food resources with a mother colony so the observation hive doesn't get to big and swarm.
Learn More About Morrill Hall
Nebraska Beekeepers Association
Dr. Judy Wu-Smart is an advisor for the Nebraska Beekeepers Association (NBA), helps with the NBA youth scholarship program, NE State fair honey judging, and local conferences. Through our collective efforts, we are able to provide support for beekeepers across the state and engage with beekeepers about emerging issues and concerns. The NBA youth scholarship program is a major focus for the organization and helps provide the bees, equipment, and training to kids (aged 13-17) and pairs them with a mentor for their 1st year.
Learn More About the Nebraska Beekeepers Association