CLU hosts 2 bee-related events in April

Bee-keeping demonstration, film screening slated

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Student Christina Geldert and English faculty member Bryan Rasmussen tend CLU's bees.

Photo: Brian Stethem

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – March 21, 2014) California Lutheran University will host two free bee-related events in April.

The public is invited to watch a bee-keeping demonstration, view bees at work and plant flower and vegetable seeds from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12, in the CLU SEEd (Sustainable Edible Education) Project Garden.

CLU will screen “More Than Honey,” a 2012 documentary about the worldwide threat to bees, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, in the university’s Lundring Events Center. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Ruben Alarcón, an assistant professor of biology and pollination ecologist at California State University, Channel Islands, and Ruth Askren, a volunteer educator with HoneyLove.org bee sanctuary who also runs Bee Capture, a live bee rescue and relocation service in Los Angeles.

Best Documentary awards won by “More Than Honey” in 2013 include the Bavarian Film Award, German Film Award in Gold, Guild of German Art House Cinemas, Romy Award and the Swiss Film Prize.

In the film, Oscar-nominated Swiss filmmaker Markus Imhoof tackles the urgent question of why bees are facing extinction worldwide. He investigates the global phenomenon from California to Switzerland, China and Australia. Macro-photography of bees in flight and in their hives reveals a fascinating, complex world in crisis.

As many as 30 percent of vegetable crops and 90 percent of wild plants rely on cross-pollination from bees and other insects. In the past 15 years, numerous colonies of bees have been decimated, but the causes of this disaster remain unknown. Depending on the world region, 50 to 90 percent of all honeybees have disappeared, and the epidemic is still spreading.

The SEEd Project Garden is located north of Olsen Road between Mountclef Boulevard and Campus Drive on the Thousand Oaks campus. It is just beyond the baseball and softball fields. Lundring Events Center is located in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness at 130 Overton Court.

CLU’s Center for Equality and Justice, Sustainable Edible Education (SEEd) Project, Alumni Relations Office, Pearson Library and Student Association for a Greener Environment (SAGE) are sponsoring the free events.

To RSVP for the Feed the Bees garden event, go to http://support.callutheran.edu/pages/event-registration-page---feed-the-bees. The first 25 children registered will receive a T-shirt and potted plant. An adult must accompany children younger than 12. For more information, contact Alumni Relations at alumni@callutheran.edu or 805-493-3170.

For more information on the screening, contact Bryan Rasmussen at brasmuss@callutheran.edu or 805-493-3015.

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