The Challenge Factory discussion

Save the Bees!
Challenge Starts July 1, 2024

There are over 20,000 bee species found in the world. This diversity encompasses some of the most important insects for agriculture, wild plants, and home gardens.
Many plants rely on pollinators, including bees, for pollination. Some plants are fully dependent on bees, while others are only partially dependent.
Fully dependent plants include brazil nuts, cocoa beans, kiwi and melons. Partially dependent plants include avocados, coffee and nuts. Other plants that rely on bees are almonds, apples, apricots, blueberries, cotton, papaya, passionfruit, and strawberries.

Take seven steps to help protect the bees! Each step requires 3 books.

There is an optional spell out for each level as well. For spell outs, you may use the first letter of the first word of the title (using or omitting an opening A/An/The), or the first letter of the author's first or last name.

Post your completions in your own thread. You may take as long as you need to complete this challenge.

Sample completion post:

TASK:
BOOK/AUTHOR:
PAGES:
DATE READ:
HOW IT FITS:

Plant a Bee Garden
Keeping a tidy garden may actually backfire for bees. This is because it removes items and sites that are usually used by the insects. Only honeybees form hives, while 70% of the rest of bees nest in the ground and 30% use cracks and crevices as their bee home.

One of the largest threats to bees is a lack of safe habitat where they can build homes and find a variety of nutritious food sources. You can create a safe haven for bees with pollen- and nectar-rich flowers by planting a range of shapes, sizes, colors, and bloom times. You don’t need a ton of space to grow bee-friendly plants — gardens can be established across yards and in window boxes, flower pots, and mixed into vegetable gardens. Seek out locally native plants as often as possible as many bee species have coevolved to feed exclusively on native flowers and need them to survive.

Tasks:
1. Read a book where the MC is not tidy.
2. Read a book with a flower pot, window box or other small garden on the cover.
3. Read a book with the word "crack" in the text.

Optional Spell Out: SAFE HAVEN

S: A Separate Peace John Knowles 3 May
A
F
E

H: The Book of Lost Names Kristin Harmel 4 May
A
V
E
N

TASK: character not tidy
BOOK/AUTHOR: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy Jamie Ford
PAGES: 349
DATE: 16 May
HOW: Dorothy is messy as a housekeeper and has a messy mental state

TASK: word "crack" in the text
BOOK/AUTHOR: Five Winters Kitty Johnson
PAGES: 308
DATE: 18 May
HOW: page 24, "...while I crack on getting it..."

TASK: Small garden on the cover
BOOK/AUTHOR: L.M. Montgomery
PAGES: 276
DATE: 24 May
HOW: Anne is standing in a garden on the cover

Go Chemical-Free for Bees
Regardless of which flowers you plant, avoid using pesticides and herbicides. Synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, and neonicotinoids are harmful to bees, wreaking havoc on their sensitive systems. A garden can thrive without these harmful chemicals — in fact, one goal of a bee-friendly garden is to build a sustainable ecosystem that keeps itself in check by fostering beneficial populations. If you must use a pesticide, choose a targeted organic product, and always avoid applying pesticides directly to the soil or when flowers are blooming.

Tasks:
1. Read a book by an author whose initials are NOT found in the word PESTICIDE.
2. Read a book where the MC is very sensitive (your interpretation).
3. Read a book with the word "organic" in the text.

Optional Spell Out: SUSTAINABLE

TASK: MC is sensitive
BOOK/AUTHOR: The Wangs vs. the World Jade Chang
DATE: 6 Jun
PAGES: 351
HOW: Grace is easily offended and gets angry at any little criticism or thing that goes wrong. Pouts a lot

TASK: Word "organic" in text
BOOK/AUTHOR: Death of the Author Nnedi Okorafor
DATE: 10 Jun
PAGES: 448
HOW: Appears on page 30 and 3 other instances (library e-book version)

TASK: Initials NOT in pesticide
BOOK/AUTHOR: The Frozen River Ariel Lawhon
DATE: 15 Jun
PAGES: 432
HOW: initials are AL

Provide Trees for Bees
Did you know that bees get most of their nectar from trees? When a tree blooms, it provides thousands of blossoms to feed from. Trees are not only a great food source for bees, but also an essential habitat. Tree leaves and resin provide nesting material for bees, while natural wood cavities make excellent shelters. Native trees such as maples, redbuds, and black cherry all attract and support bees. You can help bolster bee food sources and habitat by caring for and planting trees. Trees are also great at sequestering carbon, managing our watersheds, and cooling air temperatures.

Tasks:
1. Read a book with the word "essential" in the text.
2. Read a book where a character is a good cook (food source) for other characters.
3. Read a book with a shelter of some kind on the cover (tent, lean-to, etc.)

Optional Spell Out: BLOSSOMS

TASK: Word essential in text
BOOK/AUTHOR: The Quiet American Graham Greene
DATE: 17 Jun
PAGES: 232
HOW: 3 times: locations 102, 643, 1111 (Kindle)

TASK: character is a good cook/food source
BOOK/AUTHOR: Three Apples Fell from the Sky Narine Abgaryan
DATE: 22 Jun
PAGES: 231
HOW: Several women are referred to as good cooks and there is generally a lot of cooking for others

Erica wrote: "
Create a Bee Bath
Bees work up quite a thirst foraging and collecting nectar. Fill a shallow bird bath or bowl with clean water, and arrange pebbles and stones inside so that they break the water’..."

I only finished 2 of the 3 tasks for the one before this, "provide trees for bees". Should I just move on to this one?

TASK: Shelter on the cover
BOOK/AUTHOR: Camron Wright
DATE: 1 Jul
PAGES: 288
HOW: See cover

Create a Bee Bath
Bees work up quite a thirst foraging and collecting nectar. Fill a shallow bird bath or bowl with clean water, and arrange pebbles and stones inside so that they break the water’s surface. Bees will land on the stones and pebbles to take a long, refreshing drink.

Tasks:
1. Read a book whose author's initials can be found in the word WATER.
2. Read a book where a character becomes very thirsty.
3. Read a book where the MC is very shallow.

Optional Spell Out: REFRESHING

TASK: character becomes thirsty
BOOK/AUTHOR: Impulse Ellen Hopkins
DATE: 2 Jul
PAGES: 679
HOW: The three MCs go hiking uphill and work up a thirst and drink a lot of water at a creek

TASK: MC is shallow
BOOK/AUTHOR: So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish Douglas Adams
DATE: 17 Jul
PAGES: 204
HOW: the main character in this particular part of the series cares only about getting a girl. The other one just wants to drink.

I finally read an author that fits:

TASK: Author's initials in WATER
BOOK/AUTHOR: Three Days in June Anne Tyler
DATE: 30 Aug
Pages: 165
HOW: Initials AT

Protect Ground Nesting Bees
Did you know that 70% of the world’s 20,000 bees — including bumblebees — live underground. There, they build nests and house their young, who overwinter and emerge each spring. Ground nesting bees need bare, mulch-free, well-drained, protected soil in a sunny area to create and access their nests. Leave an untouched section for ground nesting bees in your garden!

Tasks:
1. Read a book that has a bare yard in at least one scene.
2. Read a book whose author's initials are in the word UNTOUCHED.
3. Read a book with a character who builds a nest (can be a figurative nest if the character is a human).

Optional Spell Out: UNDERGROUND