There is a new buzz around town, and it’s coming from Jefferson Morgan High School. This summer, the school district worked with the company Alveole to bring a working beehive to the district to teach students about the importance of bees and their impact on our everyday lives.
“I hope that through this project we can bring more awareness to the importance of bees both to our school and the community,” says Jefferson Morgan teacher Karen Cox. “We hope to grow the appreciation of bees by showing how far they travel and the benefits they have towards our local gardens in Greene County.”
The idea for bringing the beehive to Jefferson Morgan came when Cox was browsing online and saw an ad for the beehive program through Alveole. The company had done a lot of work previously for companies and other urban settings, but had little experience in the education field. They worked with Cox and saw an opportunity both for the students and their company, and the two sides cut a deal that brought the bees to Jefferson Morgan.
After a long process filled with ups and downs, the Rockets got one beehive they are currently taking care of on their campus.
“It was hit or miss initially, with the first batch of bees not surviving due to transport issues and cold weather,” said Cox. “We had to have a new batch of bees sent out to us and we had a beekeeper assigned to us from South Park. At our last check, he told us they were choosing a new queen and there were twice as many bees as there were when they first arrived.”
With the bees now fully established at the school, Cox is planning several learning opportunities both for the community and the entire school. She has been working with Alveole on different projects, including interactive presentations for the students, special opportunities to work with the bees during the school’s flex time, and fundraising opportunities for the Envirothon team.
“Included in the program is our beehive and our bee keeper, who comes every 4-6 weeks to check on the bees,” says Cox. “They offer two interactive presentations and different workshops surrounding the beehive throughout the year. Two programs that we will work with are the “Meet Your Bees” and “Meet Your Beekeepers” where our students can learn about the bees and how they are working in the hive. Each hive can also produce 100 jars of honey that we can use through different fundraising opportunities for our Envirothon team.”
You can follow along with the Jefferson Morgan Beehive and get information on where the bees are going by visiting the hive website at https://myhive.alveole.buzz/jefferson-morgan-school-district. Cox invites the community to follow along with the hive on the website, where they can learn about how far the bees have traveled and the impact they are making on the community. Bees are vital to the ecosystem not only here in Greene County but across the country, and Cox and her team are looking to create a buzz about their impact.