Bee there as school stars in top TV show
Focus on innovative eco project
An innovative beekeeping project at Trinity High School will be viewed by around 7.5million people when it features on BBC One’s Countryfile show.
The initiative, which has seen 80,000 bees installed across two hives at the school, forms part of the hit show which focuses on Lanarkshire in this week’s episode.
Viewers of the programme will see the migration of the bees to the Rutherglen school’s eco-garden under the expert guidance of PlanBee Ltd - the company that supplied the bees and will train students in how to care for them in the coming weeks.
Warren Bader, of the Wishawbased PlanBee Ltd, has worked closely with the school’s eco-group to bring the beekeeping proposal to fruition.
Colin McIntyre, maths teacher and chairman of the eco-group, said: “Since the bee project was a first for the area, we dropped Countryfile an email saying this is what we are doing because we know how important honey bees are to the environment.
“Presenter Ellie Harrison came with a director and a film crew.
“They were very impressed that it was the first beekeeping initiative in a South Lanarkshire school and the work I had done to ensure that the pupils were at the forefront of the project.”
He added: “The long-term plan is to get students involved in bee keeping activities.
“The science department will be introducing a special topic on the habitat of the honey bee and why they are important.
“The pupils will learn about that in class and then they will go to the beehives and see them in that environment.”
Students joined Ellie in donning a bee suit and seeing the bees migrate to their new hives in the eco garden.
They treated the presenter to a tour of the garden where she saw the colourful hives decorated by students and the many plants, fruits and vegetables they have planted.
“The film crew were very impressed with the set up of the eco-garden,” Mr McIntyre said. “The raised beds, the seating area, the fruit trees and the longevity of the project.
“This is a project that will create a legacy at the school and they were very impressed with that.”
The eco-garden is creating many opportunities for students as the honey will be put in jars and sold by enterprise students in the business department; the home economics department are growing food and art students use the garden to sketch flowers in bloom.
Mr McIntyre thanked the many people who contributed to the eco-garden and bee hive initiative including Clyde Gateway, who helped fund the eco-garden, and SGN who have sponsored the beehive project for three years.
He also thanked his colleagues Raymond Duffy and Rachel Sheridan and head teacher Peter Bollen for their support. Countryfile airs on BBC One at 6.30pm on Sunday.
The plan is to get students involved in bee keeping activities