![\"IMG_5760\"](\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_5760.jpg\")
<\/a>Bees.<\/p>\nThree years ago, Taylor was finishing up elementary school, heading into the summer, and looking for something to do. What that was, she had no idea. She heard about the local 4-H club, an organization that would teach kids about a host of interesting topics \u2013 nature, livestock, archery, etc.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just seemed like a cool thing to do,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI really didn\u2019t have anything to do over the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
She does more research and a topic catches her eye: beekeeping.<\/p>\n
She never had thought much about bees before. She didn\u2019t know what to expect, but, beekeeping seemed different.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just kind of randomly picked it,\u201d Taylor said, with a smile.<\/p>\n
What Taylor could not have known at that moment – with her \u201crandom\u201d decision – was how far these bees would ultimately take her.<\/p>\n
Meeting each month, Taylor began learning more and more about the honey bee. How they worked, how they lived, what they ate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more I attended the meetings, the more interested I got, the less scared I got, the more I understood it,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI thought it was interesting such a small animal could do so much work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGabby finds wonder in the order and altruism of the honey bee society and shares that with others,\u201d said Pamela Fisher, Taylor\u2019s 4-H advisor. \u201cShe readily educates the public about bees\u2019 importance as pollinators in shaping our environment and wants to dispel fear and ignorance with appreciation for the hardworking insect.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor became an award-winning writer on the topic of bees and beekeeping. In fact, she was able to get her own custom beehive, which she keeps in her backyard, solely by winning essay contests on the subject.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought having a beehive would be a good way to try and help out,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n<\/a>She took part in volunteer opportunities at local festivals and events, and dug more into the crucial role bees play in environmental stability. For instance, according to One Green Planet<\/a>, a sustainability and eco-conscious advocate, honey bees are invaluable to the environment because, in 2010 alone, their pollinating services help produce approximately $19 billion worth of agricultural crops.<\/p>\n