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Friars Hivers Beekeeping Club

The Sustainability & Environment Team welcomed the latest College enrolments during the holidays – the Queen Bee and her bee colony!

Whitefriars College Friars Hivers Beekeeping Club have worked tirelessly to have a beehive on site and are grateful to the Principals Leadership Team and other staff for supporting the club.  Ben Moore, a registered professional beekeeper from Ben’s Bees, installed a single hive in the College bushland and will be responsible for running a beekeeping program at the College. The program will be offered to students who are keen to gain knowledge and skills regarding the health and wellbeing of a bee colony, ethical practices relating to bee farming, the importance of bees in ecosystems, food safety and hygiene practices, basic working and craft skills and harvesting and selling honey, honeycomb and wax products to the College community.

The hive is located behind the maintenance shed and top oval score board in the bushland, which is an out of bounds area for students. The Queen bee is of an Italian strain, which has a calm temperament and sets the tone of the hive. The bushland is an abundant food source for the bees.

The 2020 Friars Hivers Beekeeping Club Policy was developed over fourteen months and reviewed by Principals Leadership Team three times before approval. The policy includes a comprehensive risk assessment list and is available from the College upon request.

The main points to highlight that focuses on reducing risk for bee sting allergy staff and students include:

  • Ben Moore, a registered beekeeper, will supervise all beehive activities
  • Ensure allergic students have a current treatment kit for bee stings
  • Students and staff who have very mild to severe allergies to beestings are identified and contacted
  • Beehive location is away from students and staff
  • Bees flight path from hive to food source is North East and goes straight into the bushland and not over populated College grounds
  • Beehive activities to occur outside of sport, PE or athletic club events using the top oval
  • First aid kit containing EpiPen and Ventolin are located at maintenance shed and location of these kits are clearly marked
  • Beehive on site warning signage is placed on the Whitefriars Way College gate and Park Road lower carpark bush track entrance
  • Staff are up to date in anaphylaxis and first aid training (compulsory for all WFC staff)
  • Students and staff to wear full protective suites when working with the hives
  • Review of feral bee and wasp activity in the school grounds and the bee sting first aid register concluded feral bee activity in student areas.

The Sustainability & Environment Team are thrilled to have a beehive on site and the many learning applications and skills interested students will gain. Friars Hivers Beekeeping Club will be very happy to harvest the honey, beeswax and honey comb towards the end of the year.