THE plight of bees is never far from the news. Last month’s decision by the Government to allow sugar beet farmers in England temporary use of the banned bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticide, known as Cruiser SB, just the latest risk to dwindling bee populations.
But at Holy Trinity, Barnsley, a co-educational Roman Catholic and C of E school for children aged three to 16, pupils are working to contribute to the conservation and protection of the British honey-bee.
For the last seven years, pupils at the school have been keeping bees, with three hives currently in the school’s apiary, and up to six during the summer months.
The bees are looked after by members of the after-school Buzzy Bees Club (mainly Key Stage 3 and 4 pupils), which involves them in every aspect of beekeeping: from hive construction and inspection through to extraction, honey jarring and selling.
“It is a great way to encourage team work and problem solving, as quite often, decisions have to be made instantaneously, depending on what is discovered during a hive inspection,” acting headteacher, Lissa Oldcorn, says.
Holy Trinity often harvests twice a year. Their most successful harvest to date was in June 2019, with 59.87kg (132 lb) of honey, followed by September 2020’s harvest of 54.43kg (120 lb).
Holy Trinity, BarnsleyHoly Trinity bees
In addition to honey sales, students make beeswax candles, wax melts, lip balm and hand creams, which they sell at the school’s summer and Christmas fairs.
Alison Sefton, a science technician at Holy Trinity, runs the Buzzy Bees Club with help from a commercial beekeeper whose child used to be a pupil at the school.
“At school fairs, members of the Buzzy Bees Club share their knowledge, publicise the after-school club and talk about the importance of protecting British honey bees, with the aid of an observation hive.
“We try to attract the year sevens and eights in particular, so they can see [beekeeping] through right the way until leaving.
“The students in the Buzzy Bees Club talk about the bees with a real sense of pride; they view them as their bees and are really interested in their wellbeing.”
Keeping bees in a school setting provides a rich resource of curriculum possibilities for other pupils too. At Holy Trinity, students visit the apiary when covering topics such as mini beasts in nursery, pollinators in GCSE science, and a variety of topics in art.
“It’s on our site so we can go at any point; it’s a real opportunity for our young people,” Mrs Oldcorn says.
There are notable benefits to mental health and well-being too, Miss Sefton says. “Our SEN students can go out there and do some work and feel that they have achieved something.”
“Because we work in small groups [in the apiary], children really come out of their shells. It definitely helps to build confidence.”
This has been Maya’s experience, a Year 10 pupil: “The beekeeping club benefits both the bee and the keeper. It has helped me to grow confidence. . . and to expand my knowledge on smaller life,” she says.
“Beekeeping is good because it helps me not to be scared of bees,” Elli-Jane, another Year 10 pupil, says.
“THERE are a lot of reasons why we need to introduce children to bees and to the environment at a very early age: so they appreciate what is around them, they appreciate what we need to protect, and they can be the ambassadors for us moving forward into looking at how we can best [protect] bees,” British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA) Chair, Anne Rowberry, says.
“Kids love bees, they really do, you don’t have to encourage them. Even at sixth-form age they are excited at putting on a bee suit and exploring what’s in a hive. Whatever age they are, beekeeping can help bring a bit more life to the curriculum. . .
“Bees can also help children that are challenged by being in school. It’s a very calming thing to do, to watch bees coming in and out of a hive.”
Many adults still don’t grasp the importance of bees, and many are frightened of them, Ms Rowberry adds. “If we lose honey-bees it would affect a third of our food worldwide, it would also deplete the number of flowers around, so it would affect the colour of our whole environment.”
Another benefit of schools teaching children to keep bees is that British beekeepers as a demographic are getting older, Ms Rowberry says. “Our membership tends to be the older beekeepers, we want it to be more balanced, and have more younger beekeepers.
“Obviously, when they go off to university, and when they have their jobs, and their new families, they don’t always have time for bees, but quite a lot of people — if they are introduced to bees as children — will come back to bees later on.
“But it’s not about keeping bees: it’s caring about bees, it’s knowing about bees that is the most important. They don’t have to have bees in their back garden, but they can have the flowers that bees appreciate.”
MS ROWBERRY recommends that a school wanting to keep bees becomes a BBKA schools member and joins their local association, which can provide help and advice on siting hives, carrying out risk assessments, getting bees and understanding what’s happening in a hive.
She also suggests church schools could link up with their parish church, particularly if a school site proves unsuitable for siting a hive. “Cemeteries are great places to put bees, perhaps in a corner that’s not being used, or to sow wild flowers.”
Holy Trinity, BarnsleyInstallation of Holy Trinity’s hives, in June 2015
Currently 35 schools are enrolled as BBKA members, which is free. Membership provides access to dedicated advice, support with materials and links to other beekeeping schools and groups. The association works closely with respective groups in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
”School membership has been around for a while, but it hasn’t been promoted enough. It’s a key area that we’ll be working on this year,” Ms Rowberry says. “We’re keen to encourage schools, for the future of beekeeping. It’s very important to us as an association.”
On its website, the BBKA advise schools select a minimum of three staff from different subjects to train in beekeeping, as a way to ensure an apiary provides a broad range of educational uses across the curriculum.
The initial outlay for a school is around £2500, in addition to about £300 annual expenses. “There is obviously a cost involved in beekeeping, but you get that back in the products you can make,” Miss Sefton says.
Encouragingly, there is less risk to keeping bees than school leaders might think. “In all the years that we’ve been beekeeping, we’ve had one pupil stung,” Miss Sefton adds. “They’re not interested in us, they only want to go about their business.”
Mrs Oldcorn says “enthusiasm and passion” is needed from someone to drive the idea of beekeeping in school forward. “But I’d encourage any school to do it, because I think the benefits are endless,” she says.
Two of the British Beekeeping Association’s school members are Beacon schools, able to provide advice to other schools wanting to keep bees. Schools can also access a wide range of lesson plans and resources for KS1 and KS2 pupils on the association’s website, as well as information on its Junior Beekeeping Certificate.
The British Beekeeping Association has recently appointed a Schools and Community Engagement Officer, to coordinate visits from KS2 pupils to its new apiary garden and education centre in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. School visits are free.
holytrinitybarnsley.org/
bbka.org.uk/