Bees In Schools

Bringing bees and beekeeping into school

The children are very much involved in beekeeping too.

This innovative school has ten beehives. 

The staff underwent beekeeping training, but it’s not just the staff who care for the bees.  The children are very much involved in beekeeping too, with the school having purchased a number of beekeeper suits for children so that the pupils can help out with the bees and view the honey bees at close quarters.  

To enhance this experience further, they have even installed a webcam in one of the hives in order to monitor the daily activities of all the bees.

The school now sells honey, and it's highly regarded too, with children's TV presenter, Matt Baker saying:

"This is amongst the finest honey I have ever tasted". 

The honey produced by the bees at Ysgol San Sior is very fine.

The honey is sold at local events, such as the yearly honey fair at the lovely nearby town of Conwy.  The children help with the stall, which of course, helps to expand the children’s learning experience further.

The beekeeping project has proven so successful that the local beekeeping organisation that has assisted the school (Conwy Beekeepers – Gwenynwyr Conwy) is aiming to establish a few more beekeepers in other selected schools in the Conwy district.

Hands on education about pollination and growing food

The children are being taught the connection between the bees, the flowers, pollination and honey.

This direct involvement with bees no doubt helps children understand the link between the flowers around them, and food that ends up on their plates.  

The creation of a bee-friendly garden including nectar-rich plants and an apple orchard within the school premises, makes it easy for children to observe pollination first hand.

Expanding the learning experience

If all this is not enough, the school grows plants to raise extra money for school funds, and sells eggs from the chickens to local shops and a local restaurant.  The school has 150 hens, which produce about 20,000 eggs each year.  With the fruit and vegetables they grow, the children also make and sell chutney.  

The children help with the chickens.

Working with animals

The children take photographs of the animals and creatures in the menagerie, and these are made into greeting cards.

In addition to the bees, a farm and chickens, the school has a menagerie.  Animals they keep include: tortoises;  tenrecs; reptiles and invertebrates such as moths, snails and beetles. 

As well as learning to care for these animals and creatures, the children take photographs and use the images to create greeting cards which are sold from the school and local festivals or fairs.

The children also start the day with an animal linked to the book Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane.

Celyn, the 'reading dog'

Being a dog lover, I find it especially heart-warming that the children have a ‘reading dog’ – a labradoodle called Celyn.  The children practice by reading to Celyn, and apparently, Celyn is a very good listener! 

Celyn is a very good listener.

It seems Celyn enjoys the experience of being read to as much as the children enjoy the experience of reading to him. 

As a result of this initiative, the reading proficiency and confidence of the pupils has improved because Celyn listens non-judgementally and without interruption, which is particularly beneficial for shy pupils. 

I can imagine it also makes reading much more enjoyable - I'm sure there would have been a stampede to read to Celyn if he had been at my school when I was a child!

After a hard day's work it's time for a snooze.

How do these activities help with traditional and broader parts of the school learning curriculum?

Aside from the obvious (learning the value of pollinators and the link between pollinators, biodiversity and food), these fabulous initiatives create a myriad innovative learning experiences.  Just a few examples:

• calculating the profit from chutney and honey sales;
• counting and comparing egg production one year with egg production from another year;
• business skills through creating products to sell and serving customers on stalls; 
• animal husbandry (and empathy!); 
• creative cooking skills.