[Pollinator] Making the World a BEE-ter Place

[Ladadams at aol.com]

Making the World a BEE-ter Place
 
By _Nancy Averett_ 
(http://latino.foxnews.com/archive/author/nancy-averett/index.html)  
Published May 23, 2012 
Fox News  Latino
 
 
 
 
    *   
Clinton Brandhagen  Photography



 
Gabriela Chavarria grew up among the concrete and pollution of Mexico City 
so  most of her experiences with nature came from vacations and holidays 
spent on  her father’s hobby farm in nearby Zacatecas. 
Still, at a young age, Chavarria developed a fascination for bees that 
would  eventually lead her to a career as a celebrated biologist working on a 
range of  environmental issues, from invasive species to climate change. 
“I always loved bees,” says Chavarria, who works as the science advisor to 
 the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “When I was a little 
girl my  teachers would stamp my papers with the ‘hardworker’ bee symbol and 
I loved  that. Later, when I was 15, I got my first bee hives and when I 
went to the  Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, I did my theses on 
African honey  bees.” 
Chavarria’s smarts eventually landed her at Harvard University, where she  
earned her PhD in biology and then went on to a series of high-profile  
appointments. She has served as the director of the National Resources Defense  
Council’s Science Center and also on former President Bill Clinton’s 
Invasive  Species Advisory Committee. 
Chavvaria said she’s not surprised by national polls that show Latinos in 
the  United States have a high degree of awareness and concern about 
environmental  issues. 
“A lot of Latinos live in areas that are close to industry and highly  
polluted,” she said. “They care because they are suffering from the direct  
impact of the pollution. Their kids are getting sick. They have asthma or they  
get poisoned from bad water.” 
Despite their concerns over the environment, few U.S. Latinos are actively  
involved in the environmental movement. Chaviarra says that’s because  
organizations have not done a good job of figuring out how to reach out to  
Latinos. 
She said the NRDC is one nonprofit that has made an effort by translating 
all  of its materials into Spanish. 
“It’s great information,” she said. “But even then, how many Latinos have 
 access to the Internet? Most Latinos work two jobs and they don’t have 
extra  money to give to nonprofits.” 
Chavvaria grew up the oldest of five in a traditional Catholic family. Her  
father was an architect, her mother a stay-at-home mom. At first her 
parents  didn’t know what to make of her fascination with insects. 
“I used to take pins out of [my mom’s] sewing basket to pin the insects 
and  make collections,” she says. “My mother’s response was, ‘That’s so 
gross. You’re  a lady. You don’t do those kinds of things.’” 
Though her parents were surprised when she told them after college that  
instead of looking for a husband, she was leaving for graduate school, they 
were  also impressed when she told them she’d won a fellowship to Harvard. “I 
broke  the mold and went against their expectations,” she says. 
Although Chavarria has spent her entire adult life living in the United  
States, she has not forgotten her native Mexico. She has helped form several  
coalitions, bringing together U.S. and Mexican scientists on conservation  
issues. One is the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, which works 
to  protect the health of resident and migratory pollinator species in 
North  America. 
Pollinators, especially bees, occupy a big space in Chavarria’s heart – 
even  though she’s been stung numerous times. 
“I have some photos where I look like I’ve been in a boxing match I was 
stung  so many times,” she says. 
Still, she works hard to protect bees. She tells audience members who come 
to  one of her annual “bee talks” that after every third bite of food they 
should  thank a pollinator for making it possible. 
“We really take bees for granted,” she says. “But we’re highly dependent 
upon  them for our food.” Chavarria herself keeps her black-and-yellow 
friends top of  mind by wearing on the shoulder of her business suits a gold “
honeybee” pin. 
Nancy Averett is a freelance writer based in Ohio. 





Read more: 
_http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2012/05/23/making-world-bee-ter-place/#ixzz1vtq44ZwH_ 
(http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2012/05/23/making-world-bee-ter-place/#ixzz1vtq44ZwH)
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