Got Pests!? Identifying and Controlling Pests in Alaska using Integrated Pest Management Techniques

By Glenna Gannon, Alaska Master Gardener Teaching Assistant

Have you ever planted your beautifully pampered seedlings only to wake the next day and find them riddled with holes? This year that is exactly what happened to me. I noticed a smattering of holes all over my pak choi especially, and arugula to a lesser extent.

Step 1: Identify your pest 

 

When we find that our precious vegetables starts that we have nursed along through the Alaskan spring are attacked before they have a chance to thrive, it is easy to feel a bit demoralized. The good news is there are plenty of Alaska specific pest management resources that are widely available and free here.

Pak choi under attack!

The first step in managing a problem or a pest is to identify who or what the culprit is. This can be done by carefully inspecting your plants individually, often times it is hard to see what is causing the damage, so a close inspection is imperative. Take notes, if you have specific field notes, it will be easier to determine what symptoms belong to abiotic or biotic problems or pests. It is also a good idea to take pictures of the damage and of the pest if possible. This will be useful in identification.

Step 2: Consult and Research 

Now that you have documented your pest or problem, you can do a couple of things. The first may be to consult your library of gardening books to see if there is any mention of a species or abiotic cause that produces symptoms similar to what you are seeing in your garden. A few of my personal favorites are The Alaska Gardening Guide, by Ann D. Roberts, and The Vegetable Gardeners Bible, by Edward C. Smith.

The Culprit: Flea Beetles, small  jumping beetles of the Chrysomelidae family.

Another option that is available to Alaskans is the Cooperative Extension Services’ Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. Integrated Pest Management is a commonsense approach to the management of pest problems with minimal impact on human health, the environment and non-target organisms. This approach focuses on the biology of pests and their relationship to the environment. The first step in an IPM program is to identify any organism in question, and to completely investigate the situation. IPM is not a single pest control method but, rather, a series of pest management evaluations, decisions and controls. You can find out more about the IPM program, as well as find contact information for IMP specialists at: https://www.uaf.edu/ces/ipm/
 
Services that are available through the IPM program include: Evaluation and identification of insects, plant and disease specimens. Recommendation of IPM control options to reduce pest problems. And, site visits to examine tree disorders and invasive plants in the field (location dependent).

Step 3: Implement Control Technique

Depending on how you go about identifying your problem, your control techniques may be varied. For example, if you don’t have a confirmed ID on your pest or problem, you may do some trial and error control methods before your see results. Another go-to tactic is proper Cultural management of your garden, properly watering and placing the plant in proper location to reduce stress will greatly reduce your crops susceptibility to pests and problems.

If you do get a positive ID on your pest or problem, you can go about implementing the recommended control technique, and documenting the results. Keep in mind you may not see immediate results, especially when using organic control techniques.

Step 4: Evaluating Results

Once you have implemented your control technique, it is important to continue to monitor your plants to ensure that your strategy worked sufficiently. Keeping notes may be beneficial for future reference. Another reason to keep monitoring your crops if you are working with the IPM Program is that they often utilize information, photos, and observations recorded by you, Citizen Scientists, to aid their program and State wide database. Volunteer citizen scientists may be given opportunities to receive training from a variety of experts on a multitude of topics regarding IPM. You can learn more about this program, and submitting your photographs for identification here: http://www.uaf.edu/ces/ipm/cmp/

Summary

 

So back to the attack on my pak choi, I successfully identified my culprit, the flea beetle, through a number of gardening references including the aforementioned books and by using the Google Extension Search. This search engine exclusively searches Extension sites nationwide so you know that the information is research-based. I found a number of control techniques recommended, and decided to start with one that I a.) had on hand, and b.) was organic, and the least harmful to myself and other garden inhabitants. I started with a Neem oil spray on the foliage of my plants, and covered my upcoming seedlings with row covers to prevent further damage. Much of the literature I consulted regarding control of this pest recommended the use of a 'trap crop'. Effectively  that is what my pak choi is, as the beetles don't seem that interested in many of the other plants surrounding them. I am currently in stage one of controlling these pests. It seems to be keeping the problem down to a tolerable level, however if I notice a new infestation, I will be applying beneficial nematodes to the garden, and potentially applying Diatomaceous earth to better manage the beetles.

Neem Oil is an effective pest control, you can also buy agricultural grade.

Gardening North of the Arctic Circle

by Jennifer Dillard, An Alaska Master Gardener North of the Arctic Circle!

New to Alaska, my husband and I moved to Bettles Field, a remote Interior Alaska community, ready to embrace a new way of living. Having lived in Wisconsin and Illinois where I had my own garden and participated in a community garden, I felt confident in my gardening skills but translating these skills into Arctic conditions was a completely new and challenging journey for me. Fully aware that I lacked even the basic knowledge of how to garden in the land that boasts both permafrost and the midnight sun, I signed up for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service’s Alaska Master Gardener Online Course. Course completed and one full year of living north of the Arctic Circle under my belt, I embarked upon the daunting task of helping a friend in my local community, build, design, plant and maintain a garden from scratch.

Eager to apply my new found knowledge, skills and abilities to a local gardening project I began talking to local community members about the possibility of starting a community shared garden. After a very insightful conversation with a long term resident, I decided that my best course of action would be to start small and he suggested that I begin by helping him set-up a new garden plot on the property he is living on. Excellent suggestion - let the planning begin!

 

To-do List

Finally the time had come for us to celebrate the break-up of the Middle Fork of the Koyukuk River and as we patiently waited for the snow to completely melt we spent some time assessing the garden area and coming up with our game plan. Here is what we came up with:

1. Get the water pump working again so we have a watering source for the garden

2. Rototill a large plot of his land so we could plant potatoes and have some additional soil to use in our raised bed

3. Build a raised bed

4. Use both seeds and starter plants

5. Purchase and use only organic fertilizer

6. Share the responsibility of maintaining the garden and harvesting

7. Plan an end of season harvest celebration

8. Share the responsibility for clean-up and winterization

 

Rototilling

 

The last week in May 2011 marked the beginning of this community garden project as we dusted off the rototiller and set to work getting our thumbs green. Using the rototiller proved to be quite an experience. It was brand new, but for some reason we had a really tough time getting it running properly. The earth was so dense and compact that we literally had to force it to run through the soil. After 2 days of back-breaking work, we decided to scale back the size of the space we were rototilling to accommodate a small plot for potatoes and additional soil for our raised bed. Incidentally, we found out later that we weren’t properly engaging the self-propelling mechanism on the rototiller’s wheel - making our muscles the only things moving this machine in the earth…uggh!

Soil

Earth moved, we quickly assessed the quality of the soil and realized that it was unsuitable for planting a garden. Why, you ask? Because the earth was full of fertile soil but it was bound together in large clumps by extensive plant root systems. I knew that we were going to have to contend with the effects of permafrost on the soil, but we didn’t even think about the fact that we would have to further process the soil before we could use it. My very creative and astute friend remembered seeing a neighbor use a homemade sieve in her garden and thought we might be able to do the same. Luckily, we had all the supplies to build a mesh sieve that worked like a charm.

We took the large clumps of matted soil and grated it along the mesh until enough useable soil piled up under the sieve. Because of this very time consuming process we were able to come up with enough soil to fill our raised bed, but the garden bed we were going to use to plant potatoes never came to fruition, oh well something to aim towards for next year’s garden. Thrilled that we had averted our first of many obstacles we set our sights on our next task at hand – building a raised bed!

Building a Raised Bed

Finally, a raised bed!

Building the raised bed was a much bigger job than we had initially thought it would be. We picked out the perfect spot, right next to the well house.  We measured out the space and then realized quickly that we had neither enough wood nor soil to make our raised bed as big as we wanted to. So we scaled ourselves back and set our sights on building a raised bed that worked within our constraints. The end of the day brought us an immense amount of satisfaction as we imagined what our garden would look like within this new wooden framework we had just built.

Planting the Garden

Planting day had arrived, we gathered up all of our supplies (i.e., gardening tools, gloves, watering cans, seeds, starter plants etc…) eager to get something in the ground we had so lovingly prepared. Because we had to change the size and scope of our raised bed, we had to spend some additional time re-designing our garden layout. This was the fun part, since now we could move around our little pots of plants to make sure we had enough space for everything to have adequate room to grow. Being that we are novices at this, we overestimated everything – we bought way too many starter plants so in the end we had to put some of them in pots and wooden planters.

Caring for the Garden Together

Mental notes made, we saturated our newly planted garden with a big drink of water and mapped out who would be responsible for garden maintenance (i.e., watering, weeding, thinning of plants, etc…) on our calendar. We agreed to share these chores equally, I would do all of June and half of August and he would do all of July and the other half of August.

Mosquitoes, Snowshoe Hares, and Puppies!

The summer season went along with the regular cast of characters: mosquitoes, snowshoe hares as well as many other pests and critters, affecting our garden and us as we tried to maintain it. We were well-prepared to deal with some of the regular factors involved in growing a garden in the Interior, but something new came into play that is an experience perhaps unique to Alaska – rambunctious sled dogs. My friend has over 20 sled dogs and added 4 furry, bundles of joy to his kennel over the winter. The adult dogs didn’t seem to be too interested in the garden when they got off their harnesses, but the puppies ran through the soft dirt collected in a big pile under the mesh sieve and tore through the garden on several occasions. One particularly ornery female puppy, named Sweet Sugar, loved to dig around in the garden. After one energy filled race around the yard, she promptly decided to uproot one of our lettuce plants. She spent the rest of the afternoon tossing it around, eating it and rubbing herself all over it. I couldn’t be upset with this young, curious pup, so instead I sat on the ground and tossed the lettuce carcass around the yard so she could hone her retrieving skills. I did feel good at the end when I spied her gnawing on the lettuce during one of her rests between play, I figured at least it wasn’t totally going to waste.

Harvesting

Harvesting was the pinnacle of success in our mind. We ran around congratulating each other the first day we saw something green sprouting or saw evidence of our starter plants growing. But when we made a salad with our first fully grown head of lettuce, we smacked our lips, smiled and beamed with pride over what we had accomplished. My friend continued to enjoy the fruits of his labor as his new garden provided him with fresh produce (i.e., different varieties of lettuce, kale, onions, spinach, herbs) throughout the entire season.

The end of the gardening season came much too fast; Fall was slowly but surely creeping in as we ushered in the month of September. As luck would have it my in-laws were in town during our end of the season harvest and we were able to put out a spread of fresh goodies from our garden to share with them and everyone who wanted to join us for our celebration. Around the table we shared stories of our gardening mishaps and successes; we solicited input and advice from my father-in-law who is a lifelong gardener with one of the greenest thumbs I have ever seen and most importantly we started to make plans for the following year’s garden. Despite having to contend with some of the unique challenges that come along with the Alaskan gardening experience like permanently frozen ground and sled dogs, the forgiving presence of sunshine as the perpetual garden food source made us look as if we were seasoned gardeners. We plan on writing a new chapter in this Bettles Field adventure, we promise to keep you posted as our garden continues to grow and we share our new found knowledge with others in our community.

Nothing beats fresh lettuce! Photo by Heidi Rader.

Starting an Alaskan Garden

by Evan Sterling, An Alaska Master Gardener in Ester, Alaska

 

Background

Well, this is my very first posting on the Alaska Master Gardener blog, but I certainly hope it won’t be my last. I’m a newly minted Master Gardener working on completing my volunteer hours, and to tell you the truth, I do not feel like much of a “Master!” Yet, anyway. I’m 28, almost 29, and just starting out with my partner, Shannon, on our own piece of land in Ester, Alaska. We don’t have any plans of becoming farmers of any sort like some of our neighbors in Ester, but we certainly have a dream to grow most (if not all!) of our own vegetables. Combine that with some subsistence hunting, fishing, and berry picking and it seems like we could just about feed ourselves, save the odd dairy delight and of course baked goods made with yummy Delta barley. It may sound like a young, idealistic dream, but we’ve met many people throughout our travels so far in life who are doing just that, and our goal is to join their ranks.

Learning to Garden

Neither Shannon nor I grew up in families that had vegetable gardens, so the learning curve as young adult gardeners feels quite steep. We spent one year “WWOOFing” (volunteering for the organization Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) in New Zealand before moving to Fairbanks two years ago. During that year we learned most of what we now know about growing food, along with many other things about horticulture, permaculture, and ourselves. The challenge begins now, as we are starting out with a garden of our very own in the interior of Alaska—quite different from New Zealand. Of course, we have picked up tons of information and knowledge about gardening from a wide variety of sources in other parts of the United States in our travels and from our families, who are spread out throughout the country. Last summer I completed the coursework for the Alaska Master Gardener program and have that knowledge in my back pocket as well. But again, I am here to tell you that despite all of that learning and preparation, it still feels really overwhelming to have your own piece of Earth to care for and encourage to grow food for you!

 

Challenges

Part of the challenge, we’ve discovered, is that everyone seems to have their own specific approach that works for them but won’t necessarily work for you. Now, I genuinely believe that is also one of the beautiful things about gardening—there is no one “right” way to do anything—but it does make the decision-making process rather daunting when you’re trolling through a heap (compost-sized) of information from different sources and individual accounts from gardeners around the world. Of course, incorporating a wide variety of ideas and specific approaches from various people should make for a wonderfully diverse and resilient gardening approach, but how to pick and choose is a little tough. Here in Fairbanks, there are loads of wonderful people doing amazing things in horticulture and agriculture, and it seems that there should be a wealth of knowledge to go around. But tapping into that treasure trove is not always easy either. I believe this may stem from our short and incredibly intense growing season, followed by a long period of exhaustion and recovery (a.k.a. “winter”). Everyone is in such a frenzy during the time when gardens are growing that it is hard to take time to teach and learn during the summer, and when winter rolls around it is easy to forget about gardens.

Choosing a Location for your Garden--the Power Line!

Okay, enough analyzing. Let’s get into the good stuff. Some more background on where we are gardening. We live on a small 3-acre lot with a cozy little dry cabin for our shelter and a power line easement along the road at the front of the property. As we quickly learned from many people throughout Fairbanks in our two years here, that clearing for the power line is often an ideal place for a garden. And so it is for us. GVEA has kept the trees and brush low for years, and they even support the creation of gardens along these easements since it saves them work clearing the area again in the future. They do kindly ask that if you fence in your garden (which we all know is practically a necessity in Fairbanks unless you prefer to grow moose in your garden instead of vegetables) that you construct a 12-foot wide gate on both ends of your garden fence. Yikes! Needless to say that doesn’t always happen, and it may not happen in our case either. The gates are meant to provide access for GVEA in case of any emergencies with the power lines, but here’s hoping there is never an issue! And so it is that our garden is being developed along the power line clearing at the front of our property. We’ve never been sure about how we feel about growing our food under power lines in terms of electromagnetic activity, but we do both believe in taking what you get and always assuming the best!

Evan stands at site of new garden along the power line

Clearing Land for the Garden

To start to give you a timeline on our gardening progress, we bought our place last May (2012) and starting digging spaces for beds almost immediately. We chose to use our own sweat as fuel, grubbing out willow, rose, and fireweed roots from the clearing with a mattock instead of burning gasoline in a rototiller. Possibly the first of many silly, idealistic choices to come, but hey, when you’re young and feeling strong why not capitalize on it? Our garden space is on a really nice south-facing gentle slope, and so the beds that we have dug have to run parallel with the slope so as not to lose soil downhill. This is all well and good and we think will look very nice, but it does mean a slightly less efficient use of the space.

First Year Garden

We managed to get five beds dug with the mattock in a pretty short time, which was good because we spent most of last summer house-sitting. This meant that we didn’t have much time to invest in being at our place and really gardening properly. We didn’t do anything to the soil last summer, and grew some potatoes and cover crops (annual rye and clover) in the silt. We received a very modest potato crop from the silty Cripple Creek soil, but we know the cover crops helped build our soil. All things considered, we thought it was a very good start for our humble garden. For the sake of keeping the first post from getting too long-winded I think I’ll wrap it up there. That should catch everyone up fairly well so I can share what we have done with the garden since last summer, now that we are living in our home full-time and ready to grow our garden.                                                      

                                     Full steam ahead! 

Year one garden

Easy Window Sill Gardening in Alaska

by Laura Emerson, An Alaska Master Gardener

With a minimal investment of time, space, and money, beginning gardeners can enjoy rapid results with a window sill garden.

On my 4 inch wide window sills of two, four foot (double paned) windows that face south, I was able to fit six plastic six- pack planters each (twelve packs total, 72 plant holes). Once the first seeds sprouted, I added two tables in front of each window to hold deeper pots for the biggest plants while reusing the six-packs for new seeds. I also hung two pots from curtain rods.

Below are my notes on the fastest, easiest and most robust ones that grew on my window sill from March 10 through the end of April 2013.

From the 21 plants I started indoors, below are my highest recommendations:

Flowers

Cosmos is an easy annual flower to start indoors or outdoors in Alaska. It looks like a daisy, but with a broader range of colors. It has lacy foliage, and can grow up to three feet tall. Started indoors on March 10, cosmos was the star of my window sill garden. Every seed germinated within a few days, faster than any other. The plants grew rapidly, to 4-12 inches tall with lots of leaves within six weeks. The seeds can be planted directly in the garden too (after frost), and will bloom early summer to frost. Best of all, cosmos prefers to be neglected. Too much care once they are established can inhibit the flowers! What’s not to like?

Nasturtiums are a wonderful flower for Alaska. They come in climbing, trailing, and bushy varieties and have a rather tropical look to the flowers, which bloom for about ten weeks. They are recommended companion plants for certain vegetables, like cabbage. Every part is edible, too! These are particularly good seeds for children because they are large enough to handle, about the size of a green pea. Nasturtiums require two special treatments to start but after that, they are among the easiest to grow. (1) The seed pods are hard, so to speed up germination, SOAK them overnight before planting. Then, they require DARKNESS to germinate. I simply put the first six pack of seeds beneath a table and the second one I tented under tin foil. Three seeds sprouted and yielded healthy, handsome plants. By six weeks, all of these had four attractive leaves and were becoming root bound in the little seed pack so I transplanted them into a hanging pot. A week later, each was a healthy 6-8 inches long, leaning toward the sun. The other three seeds were still hard, so I soaked them again and replanted them the next day, but they still had not sprouted eight days later. Maybe duds. So I soaked another set. After danger of frost, I’ll hang the pot outside for a profusion of six foot trailing orange and yellow flowers. How lovely.

Herbs

Many herbs have teeny, tiny seeds which may be better handled by adults than children.

Basil seeds will sprout faster if you soak the tiny seeds first, on a damp paper towel or napkin for 6-8 hours. With this treatment, of all the herbs, the basil plants sprouted fastest, within a week. Within six weeks, I had several small plants with 4-6 glossy leaves each and that delicious scent. Note: don’t let this plant dry out and don’t let it get cold. It will stay in the greenhouse this summer.

Basil seedlings are easily distinguishable. Photo by Heidi Rader.

All of the cilantro planted on March 28, 2013 sprouted and grew rapidly. The familiar looking true leaves started to appear three weeks later. Before that, the sprouts looked like grass and I wasn’t sure I had labeled them correctly! Nearly a month later, on April 24, 2013, some of the plants were becoming root bound (Cilantro has a long tap root). I transplanted half of them to a large, deep, circular pot and left the rest in the little six pack until I monitor the transplants. Both fared well in their respective locations but I need to rummage up another pot. Cilantro is cool tolerant, so I occasionally put the pot out in the sun in the middle of the day, when the temperature is in the mid-40s, perhaps higher in the sun. This will remain in a pot outside.

Anise hyssop seeds require a cold start. So I just put the packet of seeds outside for several days (temperatures 0-+20). All sprouted and put out many side leaves quickly. These plants will be transplanted into the garden, where they will grow to 2-4 feet tall, with leaves that taste like licorice, topped by a lovely thin, spike of purple/blue flowers (other hyssop variants range from yellow to red). They make a good border plant in full sun. The early leaves looked much rounder and more pinked (as if trimmed with pinking shears) than the long sharp leaves I expected. I didn’t recognize the seedlings except by the taste of the leaves.

Vegetables (or what we think of as vegetables):

Leaf lettuce that we planted on March 10, 2013 we started to harvest in mid-April. The leaves didn’t really look like traditional wavy leaves of lettuce until after the first cuttings prompted additional growth. To be frank, the type I planted didn’t have much flavor or even much texture, but it was satisfying to eat something fresh so quickly, and my meat rabbits love it.

Broccoli and cucumber planted on April 17, 2013 germinated much more rapidly than I expected, within three days! Cabbage followed a day later. How fun is that! Each is an interesting looking sprout, easy to distinguish from one another. Cucumber seeds are a good choice for children because they are large enough to see and recognizable as those seen in the mature vegetable.
 

Carrot seeds are so tiny that I didn’t try to parse them out among the six packs but just started in a deep pot. You just sprinkle them on top of soil and then spritz water over them until they sprout. This took about a week. All of a sudden, the pot looked like it had a thin field of grass. Once the sprouts get to be 2” tall, you thin them, eating the intervening sprouts. 

Helpful Hints for the Alaskan Gardener

1. Temperature: My home is a bush cabin that is heated by a woodstove. Interior temperatures are variable, reaching lows of 53 degrees at night and an occasional high of 69 during the day. If your temperatures fall in a narrower range, I imagine that your results may be even better than mine. 
2. Light: I relied solely on natural light. My southern windows do not provide full sun exposure all day because of several tall birch and spruce trees which provide partial shade at various times of day. Over the months of March and April, we had one uninterrupted 10 days of sunshine, but also three periods 3-5 days each of snow fall and multiple days of overcast but bright days. 
3. Supplies: The soil in which I planted the seeds was a combination of Miracle Gro and Perlite. A packet of seeds cost between $1-2.50, depending on the plant. I bought my seeds from Denali Seed Company in Anchorage and Pine Tree Seeds (in VT). 
4. Cover in plastic: Every single seed/sprout performed best when I tented it loosely under plastic wrap spritzed with water (on the underside) to provide a more humid environment for the plant than the ambient dryness of the cabin. (I tented some and not others to test this out)
5. Don't overwater: The single greatest cause of potted plant death is overwatering. Recommendation: use a spray bottle to keep the soil moist before the seed emerges, and then for the little sprout. Don’t water deeply until a bit later in plant development. 
6. Start easy seeds if you are a beginner: For beginners, the most satisfying seeds are those that sprout fastest, so read the labels of plant packets. Although some of my seeds never grew at all, most sprouted at or earlier than the seed label said. The fastest sprouters for me were cosmos, broccoli, cucumber, and cabbage. The fastest growers were cosmos(8-12” in six weeks) and nasturtium (up to 8 inches in 4 weeks) and anise hyssop plants which had as many as ten leaves on small plants within 4 weeks. 
7. Large seeds are easier to for children to handle: Among my list, moonflower, nasturtium and cucumber seeds are the biggest (but only one of six moonflower seeds sprouted for me). 
8. Label your seeds: Started from seed, you may not recognize the young plants at first, as the initial leaves don’t look like the “true” leaves you see in store bought plants. So LABEL them with popsicle sticks or something. 

Summary

From this window sill experiment done over 7 weeks, I learned how easy it is to grow seedlings indoors, even in less than optimal sunshine and temperature control. I experimented with some that required darkness, cold starts, soaking. Overall, a much higher percentage of seeds sprouted than I expected, and several of the plants grew faster or became root bound faster than I anticipated. It was very satisfying!

Since this spring is exceptionally cool and snowy (As I write this May 3, I have snow for the third day in a row), I am unable to transplant them outdoors or in the greenhouse as early as I expected, so I wish I had more medium sized pots. Overall, I thoroughly recommend window sill gardening for even the smallest home or classroom window.

For more Information on Seed Starting. . .

Cooperative Extension Service Publications:

Seed Starting and Transplanting

Fluorescent Lights for Plant Growth

Recommended Variety List for Interior Alaska

Recommended Variety List for Southcentral Alaska

Procedures for the Wet-Towel Germination Test

Denali Seed Company

How to start garden seeds indoors (Oregon State University Extension Service)

Pollinators in Alaska

A Lesson Plan for Gardening in the Classroom in Alaska, by Jessica Mulvey, an Alaska Master Gardener

“If the bee disappears from the surface of the Earth, man would have no more than four years left to live.”….

The above quote has been falsely been attributed to Albert Einstein but is the spirit of the quote true? Pollinators, bees particularly, have been in the news over the past decade due to dramatic & devastating population declines. Debates over pesticides and their effects on pollinators are currently being heard in the halls of our nation’s government.  Clearly pollinators are all the buzz! What are pollinators? Why are they so important? History & science have shown us that honey bees did not exist in the Western hemisphere before European expansion in the 15th century. How were plants pollinated before that? Should honey bees be considered an ‘invasive species’? Should WE?

A Flower Fly (Diptera: Syrphidae) hovers over a Pink Poppy. Photo by Heidi Rader.

Subject Area: Social Studies
Grade Level:11-12
Ideal season for Lesson: Any
Time to complete lesson: 2 class periods
Materials Required:

• Paper & pencil
• Hard surface to write on

Print and handout:

Beneficial Insects and Spiders of Alaska
Introduction to Alaska Insect Pollinators

Research Upsetting Some Notions About Honey Bees

On Einstein, Bees, and Survival of the Human Race

Global Honey Bee Disorders & Other Threats to Insect Pollinators

Brought to You By Pollinators

Student Learning Objectives:

By the end of this lesson, students will:

1. Recognize the types of pollinators that exist in Alaska

2. Define their view on insect pollinators in a written piece.

Learning Activities

Day One

 

Initiation:  Write the word “POLLINATOR” on the board and tell students that today is going to be an unconventional class. Move the class outdoors. Once outdoors, ask the students what a pollinator is? Do they see any pollinators? Even if there are no bees present – there are pollinators! Pollinators include – small mammals, birds, beetles & other insects, wind, water & people!

Lesson Development:  Pass out the handout “Brought to You By Pollinators” to review the types of pollinators that exist & some basic facts about pollinators. Next distribute “Introduction to Alaska Insect Pollinators”. Use the enlarged photos to assist in instruction. Ask students to quietly observe their surroundings for 3-4 minutes and list any pollinators they recognize.

Bring class back together. Ask students if they understand what an ‘invasive species’ is. Define ‘invasive species’ – “Invasive species are organisms that are introduced into a non-native ecosystem and which cause, or are likely to cause, harm to the economy, environment or human health. It is important to note that when we talk about a species being invasive, we are talking about environmental boundaries, not political ones. In addition to the many invasive species from outside the U.S., there are many species from within the U.S. that are invasive in other parts of the country.” [as defined by the US Fish & Wildlife Service] Note that the term ‘invasive’ does not simply mean non-native, but must also means causing harm. The honey bee is a non-native species, arriving only in the Western Hemisphere after European contact – does it qualify as an ‘invasive’? Can people be considered an invasive species?

Closure: Pass out packet containing remaining handouts - “Research Upsetting Some Notions About Honey Bees” (below); “On Einstein, Bees & Survival of the Human Race” (below); “Global Honey Bee Disorders & Other Threats to Insect Pollinators.” The homework assignment is to read the packet and be prepared to choose a position on whether or not to defend pollinators during the next class period.

Day Two

               

Write the following prompt on the board:

 “As a responsible citizen of the school & greater community, you are interested in the types of pesticides & herbicides being used on school & municipal property. Write a letter to the Town/Village expressing your opinion on the matter.”

Remind students of the multiple sides of the issue – Does student & public safety play a role in this issue? Public appearances? Long term health concerns? Effects on water supplies & the environment? Pollinators? Encourage students to use information from the packets they read last night in their letters.

Alaska Social Studies Standards

A-2,4,5: 2) know that the interpretation of history may change as new evidence is discovered; 4) understand that history relies on the interpretation of evidence;5) understand that history is a narrative told in many voices and expresses various perspectives of historical experience;

B-2: understand the people and the political, geographic, economic, cultural, social, and environmental events that have shaped the history of the state, the United States, and the world;

C-4: use historical perspective to solve problems, make decisions, and understand other traditions.

D-3,4,5,6: 3) define a personal position on issues while understanding the historical

aspects of the positions and roles assumed by others; 4) recognize and demonstrate that various issues may require an understanding of different positions, jobs, and personal roles depending on place, time, and context; 5) base personal citizenship action on reasoned historical judgment with recognition of responsibility for self and others; and 6) create new approaches to issues by incorporating history with other disciplines, including economics, geography, literature, the arts, science, and technology.

See also A lesson plan on Good vs. Bad Bugs in the Alaskan Garden

Bibliography

The Xerces Society
Beneficial Insects and Spiders of Alaska

Introduction to Alaska Insect Pollinators

Research Upsetting Some Notions About Honey Bees

On Einstein, Bees, and Survival of the Human Race

Global Honey Bee Disorders & Other Threats to Insect Pollinators

Brought to You By Pollinators

Invasive Species

Bee Basics – An Introduction to Our Native Bees