The Green Atoms will be hosting Martha Kiene, the vice president of the Northern Virginia Beekeepers Association, to explain the important role of bees, as well as other pollinators, in the environment. Having experience as a master beekeeper, Keene will be providing students with invaluable information about the necessity of bees. The meeting is open to all and will be held in the library after school on October 4. Many teachers are offering extra credit to students who attend.

Kiene, a returning guest speaker for the Annandale Wild Series, will be answering students’ questions and informing students about the importance of bees while also offering general information about their role in our ecosystem.  

“We decided to do this to promote the awareness of bees and their positive impacts on the environment,” Senior Khanh Nguyen said.

This meeting is especially applicable to the AHS community because the Green Atoms have recently established a wildlife garden on school grounds as well as pollinator gardens in the school courtyards in an effort to create a more green, eco-friendly environment on school grounds. The club has also been making these changes in response to the recent decline in the population of honeybees and the toll it has taken on the environment.

“She [Kiene] will also talk about how they [bees] are unfortunately disappearing due to the use of pesticides,” said senior Green Atoms President Janlynn Ngo. “I believe that honey bees are underrated. Once the honey bees are gone, what will happen to us?”

This meeting about bees is a great addition to the many other projects the Green Atoms have started this year. On top of recycling, planting gardens and doing park clean ups, the club hopes that this meeting will be another great way to promote a more environmentally conscious mindset within the AHS community.

“I believe everyone who attends the speaker meeting will be thoroughly engaged and will definitely learn something new and thought-provoking,” said Ngo. “Students will be more open-minded and aware of their environment and themselves. This guest speaker meeting is something you don’t want to miss.”