BALTIMORE – Students in Beyond the Natural Foundation’s (BTNF) free summer music camp soon will learn what the buzz is all about when they visit a local apiary to examine colonies of 120,000 honey bees.

Campers in white protective suits with camp coordinator Yorell Tuck (left) and Robert Levine III (right), founding executive director of Beyond the Natural Foundation

Campers, who will be dressed in special protective clothing, will be able to enter the apiary to get an up-close look at the bees and sample honey from the beehives.

Apiarist Bill Castro holding up a beehive in the apiary at Stillmeadow Community Fellowship Church in Baltimore

To learn more about honey bees, check out these interesting fun facts.

BACKGROUND:

Beyond the Natural Foundation is a local nonprofit that is providing Baltimore City youth in grades 2 through 7 whose families were financially impacted by COVID-19 with a tuition-free summer camp where campers are learning positive self-expression through musical art, collaborating on projects that create community, enhancing their critical thinking and writing skills, and decreasing summer learning loss. The BTNF summer camp also is designed to be a transformative experience – by exposing campers to other enrichments like beekeeping, bird catching and nature exploration in Stillmeadow Peace Park.

Apiarist Bill Castro giving campers a closer look at one of the beehives

BTNF is offering this tuition-free camp with support from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation and Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative, and in collaboration with Magic Minds, Inc., and Stillmeadow Community Fellowship. The modified format for summer camp adheres to the State of Maryland and CDC guidelines.

Apiarist Bill Castro giving campers a closer look at one of the beehives

BTNF is a recent recipient of the Lewis Prize for Music’s COVID 19 Community Response Fund awarded to 32 Creative Youth Development organizations across the U.S. that have adapted and responded to the pressing needs of young people amid the challenges of COVID-19 – recognizing that music is a catalytic force to drive positive change.

Apiarist Bill Castro holding a jar of honey from the beehive for a camper to sample