Meera Srinivasan, Reporter
@meerascourant
Imagine living in a world with no fruit, vegetables or meat. Without bees, that world could become a reality and it’s closer than you think. In the past year, 44% of bee colonies have collapsed due to colony collapse disorder, a severe threat to both the nations’ bees and farmers. The cause of the disorder isn’t clear however, what scientists are aware of is that it results in a rapid population decline and leaves the bees queen helpless. The high school’s new Bee Club founded by junior Dave Kelly and senior Joe Peiser aims to promote awareness about bees and work to save colonies from this detrimental disease.
Ms. Cebulski, a biology teacher and advisor for bee club, is ecstatic about the Bee Club because she feels it is the students responding to what they have learned in class. “I had both Dave and Joe in my biology class last year,” she said “I’d alway’s rant about bees and the colony collapse disorders. As a teacher, it’s a great feeling when your students actually listen to you,”.
Dave started Bee Club to introduce people to beekeeping and make it available to everyone in New Canaan. “The main goal of the club is to assist local bee populations and farmers nearby,” he said. “We want to make it known that all students can participate in handling bees because they aren’t as aggressive as they seem and people can work locally,”
According to Joe, the club works to promote beekeeping as a job suitable for the new generations as well as older ones. “Getting high schoolers to beekeep is a step toward sustainability in local agriculture, which is the main goal of the club,” he said.
When Dave and Joe initially started the club, they thought they could do all the work themselves which included organizing fundraisers and bake sales. Soon after the opening of Bee Club, they realized they needed help and have now appointed leadership positions within the club.
In the winter when it’s too cold for beekeeping, the club meetings focus around understanding their cause. “During the club meetings, there is education happening. We talk about things like how to set up a hive and how a queen is chosen,” Ms. Cebulski said.
In the future, Dave hopes to continue and expand the Bee Club. “Bee Club is trying to get bees at the New Canaan Land Trust, a place in New Canaan where kids can beekeep.” he said “So far, we’ve raised over $200 and have assigned leadership positions within the club. Later in the year, We plan on doing more bee-keeping and maybe even selling our own honey.” he said. Bee Club isn’t just a fun club to join at the High School, it’s a way to support a cause that deeply needs help. Look out for the Bee Club’s new shirts which they plan on selling soon in order to contribute to the cause!
