Tech-Driven Beekeeping: A New Era of Protecting Pollinators and Crops

Honey bees and managed pollination systems play a crucial role in sustaining 35% of our food supply and supporting 75% of key crops globally. Yet, these essential pollinators face severe threats from climate change, mites, and harmful agricultural treatments. Vince, an eleventh grader from Crimson Global Academy in New Zealand, is taking on this challenge with an innovative approach.

As a hobby beekeeper, Vince is intimately familiar with the life and health of honey bees. He understands their critical importance within managed pollination systems. Combining his passion for beekeeping with a keen interest in applying advanced computer science tools to environmental issues, Vince came up with HiveHealthy.

HiveHealthy brings together Vince’s expertise and creativity. He started by collecting data on his bees’ activity using radio tags, integrating this information with weather station data to create a foraging behavior model for farmers. During his participation in The Earth Prize, Vince expanded this model to track honey bee health more accurately. His system now uses internal and external cameras, sensors, and a machine learning-driven app to provide timely alerts to beekeepers. This allows them to protect bees and their pollination services from threats such as climate change, mites, and harmful crop treatments.

This is Vince’s first time participating in a competition like The Earth Prize, where applicants develop an environmental solution and refine it throughout the process. Vince shares his advice for future participants:

“If you think that you’d like to apply, you should! Absolutely give it a shot. If you really have passion for your idea, it will definitely show in the material you put together. Go for it.”?

Looking ahead, Vince plans to continue developing his software and expand his professional network to elevate his solution to the next level.