30,000 bees live in the wall of a MS Coast classroom. Students want to save the hive.
Lyman Elementary students are buzzing after one teacher estimated 30,000 bees had made a home in her classroom’s wall.
Teacher Stacy Seal’s lesson came to life with the discovery. The class discovered the bees about a week and a half ago.
“We recently had a three-week lesson on the importance of bees to our ecosystem. The students loved it,” said Lyman Elementary Principal April Daniels. “Now we actually have a hive in our classroom wall.”
Checking the bees became a daily routine. Not only were students able to identify worker bees and search for drones, they also tracked the bees’ activity.
“They watched as the bees flew away in the mid mornings and came back in the afternoons. They noticed their daily comings and goings,” Daniels said. “The students checked the window every time they came into class to see what was going on with the bees.”
The class started Operation Lyman Lions Save the Bees. The efforts started with an appeal to the community for any leads on local beekeepers who could remove the hive and rescue the bees.
“The students want to do their part to save these bees,” Daniels said. “They are so excited and passionate about this important rescue mission.”
As bee removal specialists came to assess the costs related to safe removal of the hive, the class lessons continued.
“They have brought infra-red cameras to see the hive inside the wall and have shown our students what it looks like. The students were completely captivated by this process,” Daniels said.
The school district will cover the cost of removing the bees and are currently taking quotes for the job.
If you or someone you know would like to help, contact Lyman Elementary at 228-832-2257.
