Learning from the hive
Ara Institute cookery students have a unique insight into a particular ingredient, thanks to the passion and foresight of senior tutor David Spice.
Three beehives sit outside the window of one of the lecture rooms, and the 60-90kg of honey from the hives annually is both sold through The Pantry and used in cookery classes.
Two hives were initially installed in November 2012 on the Food and Hospitality School roof.
‘‘There are so many people planting stuff all the time in the city it gives us a really floral honey,’’ Spice said, who has other hives dotted around the city.
‘‘No bees, no pollination, no food. It’s that simple. Our food system and our ecosystem rely heavily on bees. A lot of hives were wiped out by the earthquakes, such as the ones on the Science Alive building; they have gone. However, Christchurch has continuous flowering that can sustain bees, so I am hoping other businesses will see what we are doing and we can put hives on their roofs too.’’
Spice, a registered beekeeper, has been ‘into bees’ for five or six years, and said the polytechnic couldn’t have been more support- ive when he suggested the hives three years ago.
‘‘Right from the outset as soon as we suggested it, everyone from the top down was keen to have the hives on campus.
‘‘The hives are positioned so the students can see them but they’re up high enough they’re not a health and safety issue.’’
He said a lot of students were ‘‘straight up scared’’ of bees, but they can watch them come and go and have tome to realise they’re not dangerous.
‘‘Most students can handle them quite happily - if you stay calm and gentle, the bees stay the same way.’’
Spice said Ara is currently undergoing landscaping, and much of the design is aimed at incorporating bees and sustainability. He plans to add another two hives before the end of the year.
‘‘There’s a lot more social responsibility now, and what we at Ara are doing is being developed everywhere.
‘‘Bees are amazing and this is a good way for our students to learn about them – how important they are to the food chain, how honey is harvested and how to care for bees as well,’’ he said.