Bee Wise Project buzzes at Lacombe Composite High School

By Lacombe Express
Published: June 02, 2017 02:00 PM
Updated: June 02, 2017 02:32 PM

BY CARLIE CONNOLLY

Lacombe Express

There was a lot buzzing at Lacombe Composite High School (LCHS) as the EcoVision Club and LCHSs
agriculture classescelebrated their Bee Wise grand opening.
The launch of the Bee Wise Project started two and a half years ago as a dream from LCHSs EcoVision
students.

EcoVision is an environmental club at our high school which endeavours to produce student leaders th
rough projects, saidSteven Schultz, science, agriculture and robotics teacher and advisor for the EcoV
ision Club at LCHS.

School staff and Grade 4 students with Normandeau School in Red Deer came out for the launch May
31st.

As part of their project, EcoVision placed two small honeybee hives in the LCHS gardens, surrounded b
y a 10 ft. by 10 ft. by 6 ft.high fence.

The City of Lacombe has also issued EcoVision a permit to have honeybees on the school property.

Schultz said all of EcoVisions projects have three pillars; they meet to help the environment, they hav
e to enhance thestudents education and they need to collaborate with the community. Our Bee Wise
Project fits those three criteria really,really well, he said.

What concerned the students, he said, was the decline of honeybees in eastern Canada.

As they did more and more research, they found out that honeybees as a whole are declining across N
orth America.

And so through those two and a half years, they did a lot of research.

They applied for grants and obtained permission from the City, administration and the school board, r
eaching out tostakeholders and holding open houses at parent teacher interviews. And the interest wa
s through the roof.

The Bee Wise Project has three phases, said Schultz. The first was building a solitary bee hotel, the s
econd was planting andlandscaping the garden at LCHS and the third was to start a bee course throug
h Olds College.

So we are the first school in Alberta and maybe Canada to offer a full-
fledged Bee Course where the kids get 16 credits fortaking a bee course after school, he said.

As LCHS has had a partnership with Normandeau School over the last few years, they endeavoured to
do the Bee Wise Project,inviting the Grade 4 students out to participate and learn about the importanc
e of bees.

With the help of EcoVision and agriculture students at LCHS, the Grade 4 students started out with a t
our and then went rightinto making dandelion pancakes, followed by learning a different aspect of the
honeybee cycle and whats important tohoneybees.

The Canola Association of Alberta also came out to do a canola presentation, with a mentor who taugh
t the students all abouthow to raise bees and how to run a bee business. They also had a transplantin
g station at the school, where students got totake their own marigolds home and plant one in the gard
en.

Schultz said the benefits of the day were huge.

The more people that know about the plight of our bees, even the aspect that when we spray our dan
delions we could beaffecting bees.

Grade 11 EcoVision student Avy Lamb said the program is all about improving the environment, comm
unity and education. Shesaid the importance of bees is that theyre pollinators.

Its always started with pollinator gardens and then you build this perfect sanctuary and then you add
these bees to helpthem, said Lamb.

Starting as a dream two and a half years ago, the Bee Wise Project through EcoVision began in Septe
mber and has grown.

Since then we have worked towards getting our green certificates which are a first-
year class in the Olds College, said Grade10 EcoVision student Laine Unger. He said hes enjoyed the
hands-on aspect of the project.

I am a very hands-on person so this is my sort of project, he said.

For more information on the project, call Mr. Schultz at 403-782-

6615 (ext. 5205) or email steven.schultz@wolfcreek.ab.ca.

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