Blog: Honeybee enthusiasts enjoy a day out at Holland Park apiary
After almost an hour on the coach driving through the congested streets of London, the St John’s Upper Holloway School students arrived at beautiful Holland Park full of anticipation.
First up was a tour of the beautiful gardens with Matthew and Max from the Ecology Centre, where we were able to take in the variety of shapes, colours and smells of the flowers, while learning about the important relationship between flowers and bees. To our delight, we saw many bees in action demonstrating exactly how they go about pollinating the flowers. The sun flowers were a particular favourite with most being twice as tall as the children!
We continued our adventure through a wooded area of the park to meet the beekeepers from London Beekeepers Association. It felt as if we were in the middle of the countryside, rather than the middle of a huge city. On the way, we saw squirrels and many different types of birds. One child was sure that bears lived in the woods, but thankfully we didn’t see any, although we did see a toad!
The beekeepers from the gave us a fascinating insight into the life of bees. To great excitement, the year 3 students even got to put on bee suits. “We look like tiny astronauts!”, shouted one. The beekeepers then took the bees out of their hives and passed them round on boards so we could get a up close and personal view of the inside of the hive.
One student said, “I used to be scared of bees but have now learned they are amazing creatures that need looking after and respecting”
All too soon, it was time to head back to the Ecology Centre and say goodbye. Everyone wanted to stay longer, but happily headed back to the coach with their memories of a lovely day.
Jane Fitch, Finance Assistant
