Students in New Zealand grow bee garden to help ecosystem
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Students at Flat Bush Primary School in Ōtara, New Zealand, are caring for beehives and a native garden as part of an outdoor learning program.
Teacher Sela Togiatu began the project three years ago after a student expressed distress over finding a dead bee, inspiring her to teach students about the importance of bees.
What started with a couple of hives has expanded into a larger garden with plants like mānuka, thanks to support from the school community and funding from Woolworths’ Growing For Good grants. Principal Banapa Avatia noted the significant effort and support that made the garden possible. The garden serves as a hands-on lesson for students about bees’ role in Aotearoa’s ecosystem and the production of food.
Woolworths representative Ryan McMullen explained that bees are essential to a large portion of the company’s produce supply, stating that 70 percent of the fruit and vegetables Woolworths sells depend on pollination. This translates to around 200,000 crates per week that would not be possible without bees.
