Bee Queen Teaches Her Subjects About Pollinators School Facing Staff Reduction

By Bob Vosseller PLUMSTED

By Chris Lundy 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

Kaitlyn Culbert will be using her status as NJ Honey Bee Queen to educate the public about the plight of the honey bee. 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 (Bee Queen - See Page 4)