During the “Bats, Bees and Butterflies” reception, you will be immersed in Patch of Heaven’s (POH) 20-acre historic estate located in Redland, Florida. Designated as a wildlife preserve, POH is dedicated to protecting and expanding the hardwood hammock forest, creating new habitats for native wildlife, and educating the community. The GEN2050 “Bats, Bees and Butterflies” students will showcase and provide tours of their environmental conservation work with Mexican Freetail bats, Florida Bonneted bats, honey bees and native bees, and the Atala butterfly.

Light refreshments will be served.

GEN2050 is an innovative youth development program for under-resourced 6th-12th grade students in Miami-Dade County, Florida, focusing on environmental stewardship, STEM, entrepreneurship, and leadership. POH is dedicated to protecting and expanding the hardwood hammock forest, creating new habitats for native wildlife, and educating the community. POH has recently constructed the largest, single bat house in South Florida, designed to house 200,000+ bats. Since July 2018, GEN2050 and POH have partnered together to manage their honey bee colonies, as well as educate the community on the importance of honey bees as pollinators. For the “Bats, Bees, and Butterflies” project, GEN2050 students will work alongside POH to 1) document Atala butterflies, Mexican Freetail Bats, and Florida Bonneted Bats observed at POH, 2) remove invasive plant species and plant native plant species, including plants for pollinators, 3) manage honey bee colonies, conduct honey bee queen breeding, and install native bee house at POH, and 4) provide peer education tours of the project to Miami-Dade County elementary, middle, and high school students.

(The “Bats, Bees’ and Butterflies” project is supported by grants from the National Geographic Society and The Children’s Trust.)