Havergal is Buzzing: Here’s What You Should Know
Written by Isabel Snare
Edited by Dylan Adler
Photo by Angelina Polygenis
The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that the “only constant is change”, and Havergal is similarly subjected to a state of flux. With the start of the 2023-2024 school year, the Havergal community has been introduced to numerous developments regarding life at the College. Some of the changes that the school has initiated this year include early dismissals on Wednesdays and updates to the grading system, but perhaps the most exciting change of all is the new addition to the Havergal community: honey bees! In this article, you can find all the information you’ll need to properly educate yourself about the bees and the importance of having them at our school.
All About Honey Bees
Honey bees play a crucial role in supporting the natural environment by pollinating flowers, fruits, and vegetables to help them grow. They live in colonies, or hives, which include three types of bees: worker bees, drone bees, and a queen bee. The colonies work together to achieve two common goals: crop pollination and honey production! Unfortunately, over the past decade, a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has surfaced. The disorder entails the disappearance of bee colonies, seemingly caused by poor beekeeping practices. Luckily at Havergal, we have the privilege of accessing all the resources necessary to ensure our honey bees are healthy and happy so that they can fulfill an environmentally friendly (and delicious) purpose!
Where You Can Find Havergal’s Honey Bees
Havergal’s beehive is located in a fenced-off area beside the Upper School lower parking lot. The area provides the colony with sufficient sunlight and shade. The school has also partnered with a beekeeping company called Alevole that specializes in implementing and maintaining beehives in educational settings. The beekeeper ensures that the colony is functioning properly and supporting both Havergal’s on-campus ecosystem and that of the wider community.
The Significance of Havergal’s Honey Bees
The honey bees are an incredible opportunity for students, faculty, and staff alike to learn more about bees, their importance on a local and global level, and the ways in which we can support them. As an example of this, Alevole hosted two “Hive to Honey Jar” workshops in September that presented participants with a hands-on honey collection experience. In addition to enabling an engaging environmental education facet at Havergal, the honey bees are also an element of school-wide fun! In fact, the Forum for Change Council facilitated a queen bee naming initiative in order to share the joy of our new buzzing friends with everyone at Havergal. The final list of name options, selected by faculty, the prefects, and the Council, was as follows: Bee-yoncé, Integri-bee, Da Bee, Bee-atrice, and Tinker-bee. After a vote applicable to everyone in the Upper School, Bee-yoncé was declared as the official name for Havergal’s queen bee!
A Buzzy Summary
Overall, the new addition of honey bees to the Havergal community is most certainly a positive one. The addition promotes sustainable education and awareness as well as environmental enthusiasm for everyone in the school. It reminds us of the importance of bees and the role they play in local and global ecosystems. Equally, it prompts us to consider what we can do in our own lives to support these creatures. Maybe after visiting Havergal’s beehive, you will be inspired to plant wildflowers in your garden at home or to ensure that you are buying locally and sustainably sourced honey. Or, you will simply be curious about the honey bees and reach out to the Forum for Change to inquire more about our new buzzy friends.
It may be true that the “only constant is change” in life as much as it is true at Havergal, but at the very least on a bee-related level, this change is for the better. Keep an eye out for more initiatives from the Forum for Change, as they are truly buzz-tastic!