Learning from bees at Te Aro
Did you know that 70 of the top 100 food crops (which supply roughly 90% of the world’s nutrition), are pollinated by bees?
At Garden to Table, we love teaching tamariki about the whole cycle of food from the garden to the table - and bees are an important part of this.
Recently, we had a chat to Martin - who helps manage two beehives at Te Aro School, all about the importance of bees, and the rich lessons they hold for tamariki.
For 10 years, Te Aro School - a multicultural school located in Wellington City, has been maintaining their own beehives.
These hives represent a key part of the school’s Garden to Table programme - with Te Aro ākonga (students) using ingredients from the hives, and well as their community garden, in the kitchen.
Complementary to this, the school also runs a problem-solving technology module, where the students use technology to make modifications to the hives, and construct feeding tables and nest tables.
The hives are thanks to retired school teacher, Martin.
A Challenging Journey
Martin made his first beehive while teaching in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana in the 90’s - and since returning to New Zealand many years ago, he has been passionate about sharing his knowledge with the next generation.
But, it’s been no easy feat.
“There’s some stigma around bees. You have to help people overcome fears”
But, Martin persisted - seeking sponsorship for bee suits, providing mentorship to teachers, and speaking to parents, teachers, and Boards of Trustees to mitigate fears.
Luckily, it’s all been worth it - and Martin has now helped 6-7 local schools get hives, including Te Aro School, who have keenly taken on the opportunity to learn about apiculture.
A Rich Learning Experience
Every week, Martin takes a small group of students out to the hives.
“It takes 20 minutes to get a group of kids dressed safely in their bee suits”, laughs Martin. “But they love getting dressed up!”
Once safety has been taken care of, it’s all go.
There’s so much that tamariki can learn from the bees - from distinguishing different types of bees, and monitoring behavioural changes relative to weather patterns and food sources, to identifying what’s flowering and where nectar is being collected from, and even analysing the nutritional value of honey.
Harvest Highlights
But, it’s the harvesting that Martin likes the best - and it seems the kids do too!
For two or three days every year, the students get to take part in honey extraction - including collecting the honey frames, uncapping the honey, and centrifuging, through to filtering, bottling, and packaging the honey.
“Its a chaotic few days”, Martin says. “We try and get every kid involved. They get covered in honey - it’s in their hair, on their clothes. But it’s great fun - and they have a valuable food source at end of the process”.
Through it all, there are plenty of opportunities for tamariki to expand their knowledge beyond what can often be taught in the classroom.
Every year, the students at Te Aro make lip balm (by melting down beeswax and mixing it with kawakawa). This is gifted to speakers, visitors, and others within the school community, as well as a local hotel, who include the balm in their welcome packs.
In doing so, they research similar products, formulate business plans, complete budgets, run financial forecasts, design labels, and more - all of which enable them to grow their financial literacy, and learn about core marketing and business management concepts.
Looking Ahead
Martin describes beehives as a “great learning tool” - one which he would like to see utilised within more schools.
“There are regional apiculture groups all over the country”, he says. “They can offer support and advice to get started”.
Thanks to Pat Shepherd from One Percent Collective for the images.