The bee hive in Mr. James Coffey’s environmental science room, known as “The Honey Bee House” has been getting a lot of buzz lately.
The hive is integrated into the curriculum for ecology and other units as an example of ecosystem services.
The hive is essentially a large wooden box, which hides a glass cover over the hive itself. There is a small tube near the bottom, which allows the bees to exit the hive and spread their wings or pollinate flowers like most bees do. The hive is not designed to harvest honey.
The habitat is an interesting phenomenon to watch, and the activity of the bees changes as the day goes on, starting from being nearly dormant to literally buzzing with activity. Occasionally Mr. Coffey opens the front to reveal the bees actual hive, so that the students can watch the activity of the hive.
The man responsible for building the beehive is Randy Brunner of the maintenance staff. His father was a beekeeper.
Mr. Brunner’s wife also put in her share as she painted all of the designs that are on the front of the hive, a beautiful painting of bees pollinating flowers. All of this work was done as an act of charity for the school.