Read the article about a teacher who started keeping bees at her school, and then complete the notes. Three years ago, Maria Sterling set up what she named the Bee Project at Abbey High, the secondary school in London where she teaches geography. Now, beekeeping is one of the most popular activities at the school. 'We're very proud of our Bee Project,' says Head Teacher Nadia Malan. 'It's great tasting the honey!' says 12 -year-old student Luke Davies. 'I really enjoy watching the bees,' agrees Sara, a student in Year 11. 'But the Bee Project is not just about enjoyment,' Maria explains. 'Keeping bees and getting honey from them helps to teach students what it means to be responsible for something.' The bees are kept in hives - large wooden boxes - at one end of the school sports field. Each one contains thousands of bees. 'The hives are made by some of our students in their technology classes,' Maria says. 'Knowing how to make things with wood is really useful, and it's thanks to the Bee Project that they can do this.' Maria admits that setting up the Bee Project wasn't as straightforward as she'd hoped it would be. 'Persuading parents that it's safe wasn't easy at first,' she says, 'which is understandable. But it helped when I explained that I remembered being amazed at how gentle bees were when I put my hand inside a hive for the first time.' The other initial problem was the cost of the equipment, especially the protective clothing. 'That's often an issue,' Maria says. 'I didn't have to pay anything for the bees, though.' Maria has been involved in beekeeping since she was 15, when her father acquired a hive and some bees and asked her to help him. 'Before Dad got the bees, I hadn't realised that bees can do well in a big city. In our area of London, there are lots of trees and flowers. Something else I hadn't expected was that looking after bees can be really relaxing.' Maria had considered introducing bees into the school where she worked before moving to Abbey High. 'But I was only there for a year and I never got round to setting up a project. It takes up a lot of time,' she says. 'Also, finding a suitable location for the hives can be challenging. I was lucky here because there's some land nearby that isn't built on and there are lots of wild plants that I know bees like.' The Bee Project has influenced what happens in classes at Abbey High. In science lessons, students find out why bees are important for the environment. 'In geography,' Maria says, 'my students do research into the ways people around the world use bees. It's more meaningful for the students because they can relate the results of their research to our school bees.' And the honey produced at the school doesn't go to waste. In cookery lessons, students discover how to use honey to make some delicious dishes. Maria is convinced that more schools would benefit from setting up their own beekeeping projects. 'There's plenty of information available about how to do it,' Maria points out. 'And if someone's really interested, they should contact local beekeepers. My dad and I couldn't believe how helpful other beekeepers were when we were beginners.' You are going to give a talk about beekeeping to your class at school. Prepare some notes to use as the basis for your talk. Make short notes under each heading. 9 What students at Abbey High school learn from keeping bees: Example: what it means to be responsible for something $$\(\bullet\)$$ - 10 What can be difficult about introducing beekeeping in a school: $$\(\bullet\)$$ - $$\(\bullet\)$$ 11 What surprised Maria when she first started beekeeping: $$\(\bullet\)$$ $$\(\bullet\)$$

Answer:

Award 1 mark for each acceptable response, up to a maximum of 5 marks. Acceptable responses are:

Advantages of vertical farming:
1 an alternative to traditional farming methods
2 food is grown in the area where it will be eaten
3 no insects (to attack the plants)
4 no need for chemicals / no need to spray substances on plants / plants are organic
5 crops protected from extreme weather / plants not affected by global warming
6 plants can grow all year round
7 larger number of plants can be grown during the year
Award 1 mark for each acceptable response, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Acceptable responses are:

Disadvantages of vertical farming:
1 land for (building these) farms is more expensive
2 pollution (that these) processing factories create
3 pollination done by hand / pollination takes time / pollination takes labour
4 extra cost of lighting (is passed on to consumers) / (special) lights are expensive

Knowledge points:

Solution: