Term 3 saw the Native Bee and Butterfly project get underway! 

R-2 students who registered attended a native bee hotel masterclass with Mrs Todd and Keith.  Students that attended cleaned out 15cm pieces of bamboo, sanded the edges and bundled them into groups of 10.  This was hard but rewarding work.  Look at the progress below!

The 3-6 students had a visit from Dr Katja Hogendoorn, a native bee scientist from the University of Adelaide.  She spoke to us about her project of bringing back the Golden Pea Bee, advised us of different bee species in our area and gave us some plants to grow in our new garden.

These 3-6 students also participated in a three-part excursion. Firstly stopping at the South Australian Museum where we met with two entomologists (from Mrs Todd’s Bush Blitz field expedition last year), Dr Erinn Fagan-Jeffries and Dr Ben Parslow who talked to us about pollinators, shared some pinned specimens and shared some collection techniques. We explored the pollinator trail and were shocked to hear about the diversity of pollinators! Ants, bees, bats, butterflies, birds, moths, flies, beetles, wasps and small mammals are in fact pollinators!

We then travelled to Waite Arboretum.  Here we were greeted by three volunteers, who shared their BBB (Bee, Butterfly, Bird) Garden and their giant bee hotel.  It was fascinating to see the effort that had gone into the planning and construction.

Our third and final stop was to Wittunga Botanical Gardens where we met with Kelly from the Botanical Gardens and State Herbarium. We chatted about plant and animal interactions and learnt about different types of pollen.  We were able to hold and examine pollen models, this helped us visualise how a pollinator might work. 

Finally, planting will begin in the empty garden beds at the front of the school during Weeks 7&8 of this term.  Native plants will be purchased from Coro Native nursery and students of the Native Bee and Butterfly group will be invited to participate in the planting during these weeks.

Sarah Todd

Science Teacher