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Goal

To create a school apiary in which students will have an opportunity to investigate and learn about our world's most important pollinators. 

What will be done with my students

At my school, I have formed an Agriculture Club composed of twelve, fifth-grade students. The roles of this club include, but not limited to, the maintenance of our school's butterfly house and monitoring the overall health of a bee colony. In addition to these agricultural areas, it is my plan to include a plant tower which will be donated by a local middle school.

For this grant, I want students to be more involved with the world’s best pollinators, the bees. Although we have an observation hive, I do want to provide students an opportunity to explore colonies within a Langstroth hive. By providing this unique chance, students will explore and learn about a world unlike they have ever known. By the end of the school year, my main objective is for them to have an in-depth understanding of the bee life cycle, behavior, parasites, robbing, and possibly harvesting honey.

The Agriculture Club will meet nine times over the course of the school year. For the first half of each meeting, I will provide information on what to look for when inspecting or observing a colony at various times of the year. Then, we will conduct various maintenance tasks necessary for the upkeep of the butterfly house and/or plant tower.

Our meeting times and content is scheduled as follows:
• September 26th
- introduction and club expectations
• October 23rd
- It is robbing season. Identify robbing behavior and how to protect the hive.
- butterfly house maintenance
• November 15th
- What is happening inside the hive this time of year?
- If needed, butterfly house maintenance.
- plant tower assembly/maintenance
• December 5th
- Bees during the winter. What is happening and how can we help?
- plant tower maintenance
• January 23rd (mandatory parent meeting)
- Next month is swarming season. Before we investigate a beehive, I would like to have a meeting with parents regarding the opportunity for their child to investigate a colony and answer any questions they may have.
• February 20th
- approaching swarm season: What is happening within the hive and what we need to look for?
- preparing a bait/swarm box
- preparing butterfly house with spring plants
• March 26th
- swarm season: What is happening within the hive and why do bees swarm?
- check plants and maintenance, if necessary
• April 23rd
- investigate an established colony

 

Benefits to my students

With no doubt, the club itself will have an impact for the 700 students we have attending our school. All students will be able to benefit and learn from the actions of club members. Investigating and learning about bees is a highly engaging activity. Furthermore, supplies for this grant can be reused as well as possibly attracting both future students and teachers to beekeeping.

As a beekeeper myself, I plan to provide the beekeeping background knowledge as well as the bees for the Langstroth hive.

I will provide a pre and pro test to gauged students' growth about beekeeping knowledge.

Once established, the Agriculture Club will be available for students to join and experience for years to come. Eventually, I would like to grow both colonies and the number of club members within the next 2 years to include fourth grade students.
 

Budget Narrative

For the beekeeping component of the Agriculture Club, I will need at least one, complete Langstroth hive with hive tools and beekeeping suits for at least 8 students.

The child's beekeeping suits are full suits to include gloves. Although I am asking for 8 suits for 12 members, I plan to work with my principal to possibly do a fundraiser for additional suits, if needed. Additional suits also hinge on parental approval.
Each suit is $88 on Amazon.

Langstroth hive is the traditional housing for bees. A hive kit comes with all the necessary components for colony development and growth. It will be purchased from Mann Lake which is reputable company for apiaries. Personally, I use Mann Lake for all of my beekeeping needs.

Hive tools are a necessity when inspecting a hive. The hive tools for this grant include a 1 Bee Hive Smoker, 1 J Hook, 1 L Hook, 1 Uncappng Fork, 1 Frame Grip, 1 Queen Mark Tube, 3 Queen Clips, 54 Pcs Smoker Pellets

We need Florida native plants for our butterfly house. I plan to purchase plants from a local nursery which specializes in native plants for butterflies and bees.  

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