CREAM RIDGE – The local student known as the Honey Bee Queen is being crowned with other titles and awards for her work in studying parasites that are impacting the bee populations.
Kaitlyn Culbert, a student in Toms River High School North, was presented the President’s Youth Environmental Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It was given to her by the EPA Chief of Staff, Olivia Glenn, at the Honey Harvest in honor of Pollinator Week at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Bee Yard in Cream Ridge.
The Honey Harvest that she organized was a way to show other youth the importance of hive health. There were 18 teenaged 4-H members and their parents from six counties who attended, she said.
The 4-H members accompanied Chelsea Abegg from Rutgers to the bee lab to learn about different species and hives. They ended the day by extracting honey. They also got to look at pollinators under the microscope.
“I was honored to discuss my science research on Varroa mites and thymol-based essential oils with Secretary of Agriculture, Doug Fisher, Assemblyman Alex Sauickie, and Paul Hlubik from the Department of Agriculture,” she said. “Jeff Burd and Angela Juffey from NJ Beekeepers Association and Dr. Brian Schilling from Rutgers also accompanied me on the day’s events. Our State Apiarist, Meghan McConnell, and Ashley Kerr from the Farm Bureau also stopped by.”
Culbert and Abegg have another honey harvest for 4-H teens on August 16, which is National Honey Bee Day.
The honey bee population is threatened by climate change and Varroa mites, the leading killer of honey bees. Her ongoing study is to develop a way to predict Colony Collapse Disorder.
The recognition she’s been getting is twofold. Agriculturists appreciate both the scientific method she is using to solve a problem – the decline of hives – and the way she is teaching the public about the problem. She created the 4-H Busy Bees Beekeeping Club.
Recently, she had a 2,500-square-foot pollinator garden installed at Jake’s Branch County Park in Beachwood. It’s located on the plant discovery trail. Another is outside the nature center. Visitors can see it from inside.
Natalie Duddridge from CBS 2 NY visited the Jakes Branch hives.
“She suited up and accompanied me on a hive inspection,” Culbert said. “We were fortunate enough to find the queen on my first try. It was such an incredible opportunity to talk about and provide some insight into nature’s most important pollinator!”
She also did a live interview at NJ12 studios with Lauren Due about honey bees, the industry, native plants and more.
She’s also spending six weeks at the Research Science Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She will be one of the 100 students invited to MIT for a summer science and engineering program that combines course work with hands-on research.
She encourages interested people to follow her progress on Instagram at KT.Bees and youtube.com/channel/UC1VTjvnWwdJQMSHG2H18FpA
