Seven students from the Kids in the Garden program won many awards during the 2020 NC State Science and Engineering Fair and the NC Student Academy of Science competitions (see below).  Before advancing to these competitions, students made posters, wrote research papers, and then presented their research findings at the Regional State Science and Engineering Fair at UNCP in February. Two research projects also competed in the NC Student Academy of Science (NCSAS) at the regional and state levels in February and March.  Students who competed presented PowerPoints of their findings to a panel of judges.  Congratulations to these students for their amazing work, and we look forward to their future science careers!

In total, 15 middle and high school students from Cumberland, Robeson, and Scotland counties participated in the Kids in the Garden program funded by a grant from Burroughs-Wellcome.  During fall and spring, students and Kids in the Garden faculty met on Saturday mornings on the UNC Pembroke campus. These students, along with faculty and UNCP undergraduate mentors, studied plants, pollinators, and pollen in the laboratory, in the UNCP Campus Garden and Apiary and in the adjacent region.  Students were divided into four research groups focused on biosensors, honeybee aggression, flower visitation, and pollen in honey.  Mentors included: 1) Dr. Martin Farley, chair of the Geology/Geography Department, and undergraduate student Chynna Eubanks (pollen in honey group), 2) Dr. Kaitlin Campbell (Biology Department) and undergraduates Brandon Herron, Cody Eubanks, and Jaret Paynter (honeybee aggression group), 3) undergraduate Abigail Canela (flower visitation group), and 4) Drs. Grant Pilkay (professor at Fayetteville Tech Community College) and Rita Hagevik (Biology Department) (biosensors group).

For more information about the Kids in the Garden program, which also offers a free, grant-funded two-week summer camp, please contact Dr. Rita Hagevik. For more information about the NC Region IV State Science and Engineering Fair, please contact Dr. Quinton Rice. For more information about the NC Student Academy of Science competition, please contact Dr. Maria Santisteban.

If you are an undergraduate student at UNCP interested in pollinator research, please contact Dr. Kaitlin Campbell. If you are an undergraduate student at UNCP interested in pollen research, please contact Dr. Martin Farley. If you are an undergraduate student at UNCP interested in plant research, please contact Dr. Bryan Sales. If you are an undergraduate student at UNCP interested in working at the UNCP Campus Garden & Apiary, please contact Dr. Kaitlin Campbell or visit our UNCP Serve site.

NC Student Academy of Science State Competition (via Zoom) (27 March 2020)

• Middle School Biological Sciences (Advanced): 1^st place - Taylor Power, Tyler Jackson, Cesar Campos – Study of Entrance Activity and Aggression in Domesticated Hives of Honeybees (Apis mellifera)
• High School Engineering and Technology (Advanced): 2^nd place - Ana Huesa – Improving Low Cost Harmonic Radar to Track European Honeybees

Region IV Science and Engineering Fair Competition at UNCP (17 February 2020)

(State of NC Science and Engineering Fair at NCSU was cancelled)

• Junior Biological Science Division A:
  • 1^st place and Biology Special Award – Taylor Power, Tyler Jackson, Cesar Campos - Study of Entrance Activity and Aggression in Domesticated Hives of Honeybees (Apis mellifera)
  • 2^nd place and Army/Navy Special Award – Zoe Williams – Flower Preference and Temperature Effect on Pollinator Activity in the Autumn
  • Runner up – Eli Hicks and Hugo Mundo-Jonsson - Pollen Abundance in Honey to Tell About Honeybee Foraging in North Carolina
• Senior Engineering and Technology: 3^rd Place and Army/Navy Award – Ana Huesa – Improving Low Cost Harmonic Radar to Track European Honeybees

NC Student Academy of Science Regional Competition at UNCP (17 February 2020)

• Middle School Biological Sciences (Advanced): 1^st place - Taylor Power, Tyler Jackson, Cesar Campos – Study of Entrance Activity and Aggression in Domesticated Hives of Honeybees (Apis mellifera)
• High School Engineering and Technology (Advanced): 1^st place - Ana Huesa – Improving Low Cost Harmonic Radar to Track European Honeybees