Abuzz with knowledge

<p>Ettamarie Peterson knows bees, and for six years she's been passing that knowledge on to young people in the Liberty 4-H beekeeping program.</p><p>With the help of this 73-year-old retired schoolteacher, the children have learned how to build bee boxes, care for hives and collect honey. They also have gone out to speak to the public on the important role that bees play in pollinating farm crops and other plants.</p><p>"She's such a great person," said Phoebe Goulden, a 12-year-old 4-H member and a seventh-grader at Petaluma Junior High. "She's always getting new opportunities for us and taking us to Agriculture Days to tell kids about bees."</p><p>Peterson and her husband, Ray, a longtime member of the county Board of Education, operate Peterson Farm, a popular pumpkin patch destination outside Petaluma.</p><p>Peterson said she originally got involved with the 4-H program because of the interest of her grandchildren. The young members are fun to work with, she said, and she enjoys seeing their excitement in learning about bees.</p><p>She also hopes some of them will continue to raise bees as adults.</p><p>"We need to get some young people involved in beekeeping," she said. Many of those who take up the craft are middle-aged, she said.</p><p>Last month Peterson was one of nine adults honored as a "Friend of 4-H" at the county group's annual awards night in Rohnert Park.</p><p>"She's just so patient, and she will just take as much time as she needs to make sure somebody understands," said Cheryl Mohrman, a past president of Sonoma County 4-H and one of the leaders of Liberty 4-H.</p><p>Peterson's role with new members includes helping them acquire bees. She prefers to collect the insects when they swarm.</p><p>"I say 'Don't buy bees. I'll catch you some,' " she often tells the children.</p><p>Peterson, who taught for 37 years in the Cotati-Rohnert Park School district, also is editor of the Sonoma County Beekeepers Association newsletter.</p><p>Her work with the association has "gotten me in contact with people around the world," she said. "When I learn something new, I share it with the kids."</p><p>The 4-H group has monthly meetings in Peterson's barn. They also go out to agriculture days at the fairgrounds in Petaluma and Santa Rosa.</p><p>At such events, the 4-H members use Peterson's clear observation hive so schoolchildren can see bees up close. And the members recently made a special "buzz board" that shows various plants on it. The board buzzes when children select a plant that bees pollinate.</p><p>"The kids really enjoyed that," said Goulden, whose father, Nicholas Goulden, helped build the board.</p><p>The members also delivered a presentation about bees at September's National Heirloom Expo in Santa Rosa. And they have gone to EverMay Garden Center in Petaluma to place yellow dots on bee-friendly plants and to tell customers about the benefits of helping bees.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com.</p>