Yellowknife school abuzz over new indoor beehive

A bee suit isn't Andrea Harding's typical get-up, but she wore it this week to buzz up excitement about Range Lake North School's newest project an indoor beehive.

"It will look like a glass encasement custom cut to fit in our science lab," explained Harding, a program support teacher at the Yellowknife school.

"We'll be able to see them, what would normally be the inside of a typical hive. And there'll still be a tube for them to go outside and pollinate and come back in."

The hive and Harding's suit, along with other beekeeping equipment, were provided to the school for free through the Whole Kids Foundation, which partners with theBee Cause Project, to provide schools with educational beehives.

The hive hasn't actually arrived yet it's stuck in customs. The school received some of the equipment this week, and Harding said students are already getting excited.

"There's lots of questions, but there's a lot of excitement because it's something that's new to everyone."

She saidother local schools have expressed an interest in following in Range Lake North's footsteps.

Harding said the foundation provides lesson plans schools to incorporate in the classroom.

Activities include using magnifying glasses to look at the bodies of the bees, observing what they prefer to eat, learning about the bee's use of the hexagonand measuring the surface area and volume of the hives for math class.

She also said the beehive could help students learn about "steps that we can take as a school and as individuals to help increase the lives of these really important pollinators."

Along with the beehive and equipment, the school will get $300 dollars for first year costsincluding buying its star attraction, the bees.

Though thebeehive is expected to arrive in the coming weeks,Hardingsaid it's still too cold to fill it. That most likely won't happen until it's warmer, around May or June.

'Small part' of reducing school's carbon footprint

These aren't the only critters in Range Lake North's classrooms.

"This is actually just a small part of us trying to reduce our carbon footprint as a school," Harding said.

One "very adventurous" grade 5/6 teacher has been incubating chickens in her classroom. This year, the chickens will be getting their own coop outside, according to Harding.

"So we'll be producing our own eggs as a school and the chickens will hopefully be contributing to a school feast or something in the fall," she said.