Pace University Premieres Bee Aware Documentary on Earth Day
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After much hard work, dedication and anticipation, Pace University’s documentary film team – PaceDocs – recently premiered Bee Aware , a film focusing on the environmental threats facing one of the most important pollinators for humankind. The film aptly debuted online on Earth Day as it spotlights the vital role bees play in our food supply; their importance to the environment; and some of the challenges facing the insect and the environment.
“The PaceDocs team, under the guidance of Professor Maria Luskay, always does remarkable work. This year, they did something extraordinary, persevering through a pandemic to create a truly inspiring, thought-provoking, and poignant documentary.” Marvin Krislov, president of Pace University.
Five years ago a swarm of European honeybees (
Apis mellifera) made a hive in an enclave of the trunk. Worried about what they may “do” to the tree, I approached a Brisbane beekeeper, Jack Stone of Bee One Third. Stone started his business in 2012 to highlight the important role bees play in our food system. The name is to “remind people bees contribute to one third of our global food supply through pollination”. When asked if he’d come to extract my new neighbours, his advice was unexpected.
“European honeybees are one of the world’s most extraordinary pollinators,” he said. “They will pollinate any flowering plants or shrubs in your garden and neighbourhood up to 5km away. I recommend you try and live harmoniously with them and leave them there.”
A total of 215 students entered the competition. Yesterday it was announced that Bethany Atherton, from the Warriner School, in Banbury, won the Year Eight competition for her piece titled Bee Aware , which was inspired by botanist Ache Atta-Boateng s research. She said: Winning this feels absolutely amazing. I love to draw and spend most of my time doing this. To be able to include a strong message in my drawings that others will now see, makes it even more exciting. My grandparents keep bees and so Aché Atta-Boateng’s research about pollination jumped out at me, as this is a topic that is very close to my heart.’
BAME scientists at Oxford University celebrated in school project thisisoxfordshire.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisisoxfordshire.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Running for the second time (first run in 2018), the competition was developed to increase the visibility of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic scientists and mathematicians, while also engaging local schools and young people in showcasing their research in art form.
Oxfordshire state school pupils were asked to create art – of any form – based on profiles of six Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic researchers from the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division of the University of Oxford. As part of their profiles, researchers shared their personal and career stories, as well as their current work in areas such as infectious diseases, cacao trees, nuclear fusion, sand rat genetics, cryopreservation, and data visualisation.