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Project by Science Teacher Mr. Paul Wiech and students
Luke
Babel, Mackenzie
Corcoran, Kodie Coyne,
Trever
Empson, Anneliesse Hess, Camille
Holmes,
Otis
Jackson, Courtney Jansen,
Darian Knapp,
Taylor
Perosio, Alen Quints, Nate Stabler,
and
Katie Vanbenschoten
Our
group is currently working to start at least two successful bee colonies
on school grounds as a chance for an exciting and important learning
experience. The hives will
give students a chance to learn apiarist skills, which they could carry on
into their later lives. The
student garden and the anticipated school orchard, which are both aimed at
providing fresh produce to the cafeteria, will also receive benefit from
the pollination of the bees, along with the area surrounding the school.
Anticipated challenges of this project are the possibility of CCD,
Colony Collapse Disorder, affecting our hives.
We will have to deal with this by caring for our hives in the best
possible way we can and providing everything necessary for their success. This
project gives us an exciting chance to make a difference.
We intend on beginning work on this project as early as the weather
will permit. We have begun the
construction of the hives inside. Some
assembly is required for certain components of the hives. We will also
need to paint each hive to prevent rotting. The hives are mainly made of
wood so this is a necessary step. When the snow first thaws we will go out
to the location of where we will set up the apiary and begin clearing away
debris from the site making it clean and accessible. The
ground should be flattened and built up slightly with gravel to provide
better drainage in case of heavy rain.
This
will prevent the hives from becoming wet or flooded, which would weaken or
kill the colonies. When the
apiary is ready and the hives are constructed and painted we will set up
the hives in the apiary. The
bees themselves, which are very important part of the project, will be
awaited after this process has been completed. In the time that we are
waiting for the bees to arrive, I will begin teaching students who are
interested in the care of the hives the basics of beekeeping. I
intend on having some of our key partners come in and talk about the
proper techniques as well and experiences they’ve had with beekeeping. When
the bees arrive we will have the help of experienced beekeepers in
installing them into the awaiting hives. Again
depending on the weather situation the time that this happens may vary.
After we have functioning bee hives we will begin caring for them about
every other week. Too much
interaction with them can cause stress on the colony, while not enough
care can result in overcrowding and swarming. We will learn from the bees
as we gain experience in their care.
Benefits
for Community and Local Wildlife
This project will have a large benefit to the
local wildlife and the community because of added pollination. Pollination
is very important in the reproduction of plants and the health of the
environment. The honey bees will pollinate the wild plants in the area
surrounding their hive making the environment more productive. Healthier
more productive plants will give the local wildlife a better source of
food, shelter, and a healthier habitat. The
community will also benefit from the pollination; gardens and crops around
the hives will be more productive with better pollination. The
school will benefit as well from the pollination, it will improve the
production of two other projects we have; the student garden and school
orchard.
Click below to see the presentation at the February 6, 2012 Board
of Education meeting by students Camille Holmes, Taylor Perosio and
Mackenzie Corcoran along with teacher, Mr. Wiech.
http://prezi.com/08obahf9jybm/the-honey-bee-project/