Sustainability Spotlight: Southwest Hive Helpers

Students at Southwest have been busy cultivating and expanding learning opportunities for their outdoor areas. Recently, the Hive Helpers club built a native pollinator garden to support pollinators in the community. Charley Bittle, science teacher at Southwest, is the sponsor for this group and would describe himself as only being the facilitator and mentor, “the students come up with all the ideas and I just help them get the information and support they need.” It has been a challenging process, but Bittle has secured grants in order for student ideas to come alive. For example, the pollinator garden was made possible by a grant from the Nebraska Wildlife Federation who also brought in experts to help plan and plant the garden.

In addition to advocating for outdoor expansion, Bittle has found a way to integrate curriculum, outdoor spaces and technology into an ongoing project for his students. Funded by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln grant, Bittle purchased aluminum display signs and other species diversity equipment for annual studies and public outreach. During the school year, students created websites for Southwest’s outdoor spaces that provide information along the pathways through the posting of QR codes on those signs placed around the areas. While the creation of the website was a great learning experience for students, the finished product is now available as a community engagement tool for the many neighbors who visit these natural areas. Bittle worked with the journalism class to have students write press releases and send them out to different agencies in order to advertise for the new websites. Being able to keep track of how often the websites are visited, Bittle found that the LSW Outdoor Natural Areas site and the Hive Helpers site were viewed in places throughout Nebraska, the midwest and in four different countries, that’s quite the impact!

From facilitating students’ ideas and applying for funding, Bittle aided students efforts to expand Southwest’s outdoor spaces. “I think it’s a good thing that we have students interested in preserving our native flora and fauna” commented Bittle, “our kids will surprise you when they are outside”. Although there are challenges that come with trying to move ideas forward in a large organization, it is evident that those projects have been well worth the effort. These opportunities are providing a unique learning experience for Southwest students that enriches their own education and enhances these resources for the community. “Just get the kids outside, you never know how much they enjoy or dislike it if you don’t take them out.” 

Thank you Charley Bittle, for helping students ideas come to life and for growing Southwest’s outdoor community!

Updated March 14, 2024