As part of the “Beekeepers of the Lower Silesian Forests” project, carried out by the TREK Social Activity Association in Kruszyn, a series of workshops on beekeeping was held from 23 to 26 June for primary school pupils. The sessions were prepared and conducted by pupils of the I General Secondary School in Bolesławiec – Kamila Popek, Karolina Tesarska, Agnieszka Koryluk, Radosław Górecki, Karol Lisiecki, Kamil Parzyszek, Sebastian Mihaljew and Dawid Kałwak, who had taken part on 30 May this year in a workshop at the apiary of Krystyna and Jerzy Słonecki in Luboszów.
The sessions were held at five schools: Primary School No. 3 named after the Home Army in Bolesławiec; the Primary School named after John Paul II in Kruszyn; Primary School No. 4 named after Jan Matejko in Bolesławiec; Primary School No. 1 named after Janusz Kusociński in Bolesławiec; and the Piarist Order’s Public Primary School named after Rev. Stanisław Konarski in Bolesławiec. A total of 159 pupils from grades 1–4 of primary school took part.
“The workshops consisted of two or three stages,” says Kamila Popek. “In the first part, the pupils watched a presentation about the life of bees. They learned about bee species, their anatomy, bee colonies, and types of hives and apiaries. The second part was a screening of the film ‘How It’s Done – Honey’, showing the process from collecting frames at the apiary, through extracting honey from wax-capped combs, spinning it in a honey extractor and removing wax impurities, to finally pouring it into jars. The final element was making little bees from toilet-paper rolls using prepared semi-finished materials. The pupils could try on beekeeping hats and personally see how smokers work, which they found incredibly exciting.”
“We would like to thank the school principals for their help in organising the sessions,” says Anna Salej, the project coordinator. “I must also mention Karolina Jarząbek, a teacher at the I General Secondary School in Bolesławiec, for her invaluable help with the logistical details of the project.”
The sessions were organised as part of a grant competition won under the “With Kujawski, We Help Bees” programme, whose organisers are Zakłady Tłuszczowe “Kruszwica” S.A. and the Our Earth Foundation.
Information about the project can also be found at www.trek.org.pl.
(information: SAS TREK/ii)