Funding is bee’s knees

Students at a Mt Albert primary school are buzzing after receiving funding to make their own honey.

Owairaka District School is one of 13 schools around the country that will benefit from the Bayer Primary School Science Fund administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Nine of the schools are using the money to create or develop their gardens.

Owairaka School was awarded nearly $900 which will be used for purchasing a honey extractor, honey strainer and equipment to make honey from its recently installed hive.

The decile two school is a leading enviroschool and was a winner in last year’s Sustainable Environ- ment Awards run by Auckland Council.

It has a strong conservation focus as well as several vegetable plots around the school that contribute to the Garden to Table programme.

Principal Diana Tregoweth says the students will cook with honey from the beehive as part of the programme.

‘‘Our children will also be learning about the importance of bees to society and learning about the life cycle and so on as part of science,’’ she says.

‘‘We were thrilled to get the grant from the Bayer Foundation towards equipment needed in regards to keeping the bees and collecting the honey.’’

Bayer managing director Patricia Castle says she is impressed by the creative ways schools are getting students to engage in learning about the living world.

‘‘It’s fantastic to see Bayer’s funding go towards things like worm farms, plants and gardening equipment that I’m sure will bring a great deal of enjoyment to science lessons.’’

Over the past three years Bayer, a global chemical and pharmaceutical company, has contributed $120,000 as part of its partnership with the Royal Society.

Society chief executive officer Di McCarthy says the funding allows primary schools to run a wide range of activities they might not otherwise have the funds and being to provide.