4-H Beekeeping Essay Contest

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2010 4-H BEEKEEPING ESSAY CONTEST
ANNOUNCEMENT AND RULES
Sponsored by The Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees, Inc.

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National Awards:
First place: $750.00
Second place: $500.00
Third place: $250.00

State Award:
Each state winner receives an appropriate book about honey bees, beekeeping or honey.

Topic:
For the 2010 essay contest, the essay topic is:

“Is My Community Honey Bee-Friendly?”

Honey bees and other pollinators have been in the news lately. Many beekeepers have experienced colony losses to the yet-unexplainied Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. These unexplained losses have caused some people to wonder, "What can I do to help?" For this essay, you should survey your community to see what is being done or could be done to help honey bees. Perhaps there are classes to attract new beekeepers or laws that prohibit beekeeping. Does your community allow roadsides and open land to grow up in blooming plants in the spring... or not? Are there resources to help home gardeners make bee-friendly choices? When insecticides are required for pests (for example, mosquito control) are insecticides chosen or applied with bee protection in mind? Include your state in your survey if there is some reason; for example, your state may have declared the honey bee your state insect or your state highway department may have a wildflower seeding program.

The scope of the research is an essential judging criterion, accounting for 40% of your score. The number of sources consulted, the authority of the sources, and the variety of the sources are all evaluated.

Personal interviews with beekeepers and others familiar with the subject are valued sources of information and should be documented. Sources which are not cited in the endnotes should be listed as "Resources" or "Bibliography" list.

Note that "honey bee" is properly spelled as two words, even though many otherwise authoritative references spell it as one word.

Rules:
1. Contest is open to active 4-H club members only. 4-H'ers who have previously placed first, second, or third at the national level are not eligible; other state winners are eligible to re-enter.

2. Requirements (failure to meet any one disqualifies):

*	Preparation for national judging: Typewritten or computer generated, double-spaced, 12-pt. Times or similar type style, on one side of white paper following standard manuscript format.
*	Write on the designated subject only.
*	All factual statements must be referenced with bibliographical-style endnotes.
*	A brief biographical sketch of the essayist, including date of birth, gender, complete mailing address, and telephone number must accompany the essay.
*	Length - the essay proper: 750 to 1,000 words.
*	The word count does not include the endnotes, the bibliography or references, not the essayist's biographical sketch - which should be on a separate page.

3. Essays will be judged on (a) scope of research - 40%, (b) accuracy - 30%, (c) creativity - 10%, (d) conciseness - 10%, and (e) logical development of the topic - 10%.

4. Essayists should not forward essays directly to the American Beekeeping Federation office. Each state 4-H office is responsible for selecting the state's winner and should set its deadline so state judging can be completed in time for the winning essay to be mailed to the ABF office before March 1, 2008. Deadline for Tennessee entries to be received in the state 4-H office is February 1, 2010.

5. Each state may submit only one entry.

6. Final judging and selection of the national winner will be made at the ABF's essay committee, whose decision will be final.

7. The national winner will be announced by May 1, 2010.

8. All national entries become the property of the Foundation and may be published or used as it sees fit. No essay will be returned.