St. Catherine's Bee Club
1
The Pitch
Problem statement
St. Catherine's Bee Club started in May 2022 when we purchased 2 established bee colonies from the local Launceston Beekeepers Group. Since then we have run a weekly after school club for any keen year 5 or 6 pupils, where we teach them about bee husbandry, with the practical and theoretical side of bee-keeping being learnt throughout the year. We currently have 8 children's suits for our practical sessions, when the children help to inspect the hives, and are slowly building up our equipment with each amount of funding received. This year, we hope our pupils will undertake an exam to gain the Junior Beekeeping Certificate from the British Beekeeping Association (BBKA).
Solution
Our goal is to continue to educate our Year 5 and 6 pupils, to help them to learn bee husbandry and help us spread the word to the rest of the school about how important bees are for our environment. We do this through a weekly Bee Club, with work both indoors and out depending on the season. Funding for this project will go towards replacement hives for our 2 colonies, re-planting in our school garden, microscopes for close inspection of findings, a second honey filter and honey storage bucket to speed up the honey extraction process, feed for the winter, hive tool bucket, lanyards for our new bee club members, Varroa (disease) treatment, additional beekeeping text books for club members.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
We offer this club to our interested year 5 and 6 pupils. This is our second year running, and we will this year be hoping to have our pupils sit an exam to gain the Junior Beekeeping Certificate from the British Beekeeping Association (BBKA). As well as growing their knowledge and confidence, we hope this will also ignite a life long passion for bee-keeping and the protection of these precious insects, along with other pollinators. Although the club is only open to Year 5 and 6, we also involve the rest of the school with planting/ re-wilding in our school grounds, conduct assemblies and make posters to share their gained knowledge in an age appropriate way.
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| Replacement national hives x 2 | £350 |
| Re-planting school garden | £500 |
| Microscopes x 6 | £300 |
| Second honey filter | £25 |
| Second honey storage bucket | £40 |
| Feed for winter | £40 |
| Hive tool bucket | £10 |
| Lanyards for club members | £80 |
| Varroa (disease) treatment | £40 |
| additional beekeeping text books x 7 | £105 |
Beneficiaries
16 people
Who will benefit
Expected impact
The impact will be further growth from our already established bee club. To provide immediate benefit for the 16 pupils currently attending, but also further impact to our 200 (total) school pupils who will also benefit from the shared knowledge of their school friends. We hope, from this club, that pupils will develop not only knowledge and understanding of how vital it is to the environment for bees to survive, but also to gain confidence and personal growth which is developed when the are in their bee-keeping suits and assisting with an inspection of the hive. When we started our club it was with an initial funding pot of £500, to cover staff training costs for 2 staff members. With each successful funding application we have purchased a bit more equipment, slowly building up so that the children have more resources to support their learning whilst also maintaining the cost of running the hives and maintaining the health of our colonies for future years.