In 2021, Year 4 Teacher Jarryd Thurling, successfully applied for and received a Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant to implement ‘The Bee Team’ project at Trinity Anglican College in Albury, NSW.

This co-curricular program for students in Years 4-6 kicked off in Term 4, 2022 and has continued to run every Thursday afternoon since then.

As part of the program, students participate in both theoretical and practical components to find out what all the buzz is about regarding beekeeping, and why bees are so important.

The program has also introduced them to a fun, interactive approach to learning across a range of areas such as biology, agriculture, community connections, innovation, product design and more.

“Our students are thoroughly enjoying these unique, fun and engaging sessions. It’s a great initiative to be able to provide our students (and future beekeepers) with a practical understanding of bees, their role in the environment, and the pro

ducts derived from beekeeping. Our students are very fortunate to experience one of nature’s most amazing little creatures!” said Jarryd.

The theoretical component includes learning about bee lifecycles, the different roles each bee performs, who the Queen is and how to identify her, the pros and cons of various hives, where to get bees from, hive management, and disease identification.

Students also learn about the history of beekeeping and information on the tools and materials commonly encountered.

The practical component (the fun part!) involves the students donning their beekeeping suits and getting hands-on with the management of the hives, record keeping, honey extraction, weighing, bottling, designing their own labels, advertising, sales, and allocation of charity donations from the honey sales.

And their efforts appear to be paying off! In March of this year, when Albury Beekeepers held a blind tasting for their 2023 Honey Competition, Albury Beekeeper club members crowned Trinity Bee Team Honey as the overall winner. Congratulations to The Bee Team!