Jonathan Koch wins runner-up award in national video competition
By Anne Rivera
An alumnus of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo who has returned to the university as a postdoctoral fellow has won the 1st runner-up award in a video competition hosted by the Entomological Society of America.
Jonathan Koch (Hilo, BA & BS ’08), a conservation entomologist specializing in bees, and team members Ethel Villalobos, an entomologist and member of the Honey Bee project at UH Mānoa, and Jonathan Wright, a graphic designer with Hazard Design in Honolulu, joined up to enter the annual 2017 YouTube Your Entomology Contest. Their video, “The Odd Couples: Pollinators” (see details about production), has won the runner-up award out of more than 30 entries.
The Koch team video discusses the natural history of bees and their value and diversity along with the current threats to bee populations.
“We wanted to provide an opportunity for people to learn how they can help bees on an individual level,” explains Koch, who, in addition to conducting research, is now a UH Hilo adjunct assistant professor. “Our video provided a platform for us to talk about the value of bees to a broader audience.”
Wright helped with the creation and production of the video, while Villalobos was the storyboard designer and lead investigator. Koch helped edit and narrate the video.
“It’s the responsibility of scientists to figure out a way to communicate better,” he says. “That’s the mission of the video.”
He adds, “The biggest challenge, was finding the time, especially when balancing teaching and research duties.”