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Today (Tuesday) is Giving Day.

Let's give to the honey bees. 

Or, rather, let's "give BACK" to the bees. Honey bees pollinate about one-third of our food supply, including fruits, vegetables and nuts. They also provide us with honey, beeswax and other products.

To us, giving to the bees means giving to the UC California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP), a science-based program headquartered at UC Davis that researches honey bee health and supports the beekeeping industry. Through its classes, CAMPB trains beekeepers to become stewards and ambassadors who engage in honey bee education and outreach activities, raising awareness at the community, county and state levels.

Sadly, honey bees are in trouble.

"Bee losses nationwide are particularly bad this year," according to bee scientist Elina Lastro Niño, professor of UC Cooperative Extension, Apiculture, and a key member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty. "This past winter the nation's beekeepers lost 1.1 million bee colonies. Since 2006, beekeepers have reported average annual colony losses of up to, and in some cases above 50 percent, threatening the stability of our food supply."

Niño is the founder and director of CAMBP and directs the UC Davis Bee Haven, a half-acre demonstration garden on Bee Biology Road, located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. The Haven, west of the central campus, is a place where pollinators and plants thrive. It's open to the public from dawn to dusk; admission is free.

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Wendy Mather and Kian Niksad serve as co-program managers of CAMBP, and Samantha Murray is the education and garden coordinator of The Haven. All are members of the E. L. Niño lab.

Today Mather posted this on Instagram and Facebook:

“Today, we celebrate the community that keeps California’s bees — and beekeepers — thriving. The California Master Beekeeper Program is more than a certification. It's a statewide network of mentors that provides

• Science-based classes that build confident, responsible beekeepers
• Outreach that lifts up clubs, associations, and new beekeepers
• Education that supports the health of honey bees and native pollinators

"If CAMBP has inspired you, supported you, or helped your club or community, we invite you to consider a Giving Tuesday gift. Every contribution, big or small, helps us continue doing what we all love most:
Sharing good science. Supporting each other. Championing the bees. Give here at https://give.ucdavis.edu/AENM/EXNMSTB.
Thank you for being part of our hive." You can also donate throughout the year.

Bottom line, in simple poetic form and maybe a little buzzworthy: 
Let's support the drive to help bees thrive inside their hive. 

Cover image: Joseph Tauzer, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, opens a hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)