Ardingly students taught about bee keeping
BEE-keeping is the latest "lesson" being taught to students at Ardingly College.
Pupils and staff concerned about the country's threatened honey bee population have set up their own bee-keeping club and hope to be spreading their own home-grown honey soon.
The first three boxes of bees have been placed in a secluded section of the school's 350-acre grounds in Ardingly in a field planted with flowers and trees.
The students' first task has been to "hive" the bees to check that a queen is present before moving them to their permanent homes.
Members of the new club have been donning veils and protective clothing to see bees up close and identifying the queen, drones and workers .
Teacher Markus Klinge, who runs the club, said: "Bees are having a hard time at the moment because of disease and environmental threats. By starting a bee-keeping club and taking care of our bees throughout the year, Ardingly College is doing its best to help support the bee population in our area.
"The bees at Ardingly are Buckfast Bees, first bred by German monk Brother Adam, who had joined the Benedictine abbey at Buckfast in Devon early in the 20th century. His bees are still known today for their industrious nature and for the high quantity of honey they produce. We hope that, here at Ardingly, they live up to their reputation!"
Tim Lovett, the President of the 13,000-strong British Beekeepers' Association, said: "Schools such as Ardingly College are helping safeguard the future of the honey bee and are blazing a trail for other young bee-keepers around the country."
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Weather for Bexhill-on-Sea
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
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Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
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