ASHS 2024 Conference

Florida is home to over 300 species of native wild bees, some in critical decline. To encourage gardeners to plant bee friendly species that support bee pollinators year-round, an online application called BeeGardens was built using a shared library of code and a relational database management system. The application, accessible by a mobile device or computer, enables users to quickly access over 85 bee-friendly plants that attract 12 primary bee groups; and provides tips for incorporating these into different landscape designs (https://ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/bees). The functionality and usefulness of the app was evaluated by students enrolled in two courses at the University of Florida: Florida Native Landscaping and Annual and Perennial Gardening, taught in different semesters. Before and after the semester, students were asked to report their abilities to 1) identify bee-friendly plants, 2) identify bee pollinators, and 3) design a bee-friendly garden, using a Likert scale with responses ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Means of pre- and post-test responses showed a significant perceived knowledge gain upon using the BeeGardens online application in both courses. This data was consistent with pre- and post-tested means where students were asked to identify three major pollinator plants and three major pollinators using multiple choice response options. Test scores increased by 26.3% and 37.9% in Annual and Perennial Gardening and Florida Native Landscaping, respectively. The majority of students (95.0%) agreed or strongly agreed this learning tool was organized, easy to navigate, and would use it in the future. Since its inception in March 2021, this web application has been accessed by over 26,554 new users from across Florida and beyond.