Friday was a very special day for amancay greulich, teacher at the grammar school and hobby beekeeper. They were allowed to participate when a colony of bees was relocated from the zeidler house on herzo base to the sports field next to the school. Thus, the high school now received its own beehive.
Now, in the beginning of spring, is the right time for such a decrease, explained "beekeeper-pope" klaus becker, when the transport was prepared in the morning hours. Third in the group was beekeeper gerhard knaus. Originally, the action had been planned together with the schoolchildren, but the corona crisis with the school ban put a spanner in the works. The project had to go through, however, because "we were endangering the well-being of the bees at a later point in time, reports becker.
Elective course at the school
But the schoolchildren are by no means surprised, even if they have not yet heard about the action. Because there is an elective course in beekeeping, which is attended by 14 students from the fifth to seventh grades and which was founded and is run by amancay greulich. Young people have been thinking about this issue for a long time, and they have already taken precautions.
Thus the bee colony, which has now moved, receives a new "hive". This is the name of the house or rather the beehive in which they hibernated and now still live. This wooden box goes back to the beekeepers' association, while the bees are soon allowed to move into their new home. The schoolchildren prepared the site near the sports ground and the new "booty deleted. Bee-friendly shrubs were also planted. And from the friends of the gymnasium they have received ten protective suits.
And that is not all. The schools also take responsibility for the useful animals. As the teacher says, there will always be two schoolchildren a week who are in trouble. "They even go on duty during summer vacation," says the 39-year-old, says the 39-year-old, not without pride.
Beekeeping has become a matter close to her heart. With klaus becker and his association she was accepted as a trial beekeeper, and as such she was allowed to take the colony to the gymnasium free of charge. For usual such a volk costs 150 euro, as becker states. One hundred euros for the new "booty" brings up the school.
Brand name "gymkerei"
The deputy principal of the herzogenaurach high school, wolfgang ruhling, accompanied the relocation action. The school's educational mission is to teach everyday skills, he says. Bee education fits in perfectly.
Biology department head and hobby beekeeper greulich has another reason to be happy. Are your students enthusiastic about their work?. So they have chosen the brand name "gymkerei" for their project formed by a democratic decision, as greulich says. "Gymkerei" is a combination of high school and beekeeping.
50 coarse glasses of honey
Of course, the company will also have its own honey, probably from june, as klaus becker notes. And also in the production of the healthy food the schoolchildren should participate. So becker can imagine taking the honey slinger to the school kitchen and then working together. The young people have also thought of a label, but they have not yet revealed the name of the school honey. 25 to 30 kilos of honey per year can be expected, says becker. There will be around 50 coarse glaziers.
The idea of having one's own bee colony arose two years ago when a P-seminar was formed on the school garden. If you're going to plant a flowering garden, you need the bees to do it too. It was not possible to place a hive directly in the school area, because the school garden is also a playground. But with the somewhat remote location at the soccer field, a suitable home was found on city property. The city also immediately supported the project, says the teacher.
A few thousand animals live in the "bien" now that they have found a new life after the winter, what the people call themselves. By summer, there will be between 20,000 and 50,000 visitors, the estimates of amancay greulich and klaus becker diverged. The head beekeeper, who looks after twelve beekeepers at the zeidlerhaus, tends to the rough numbers. "In summer we are millionaires", he says. "Breathtaking" is, as the teacher swarmed, the work of the queen. "She can lay 2000 eggs a day."
By the way, the school's own bee colony is made up of carnica bees. A gentle race, as becker says. This has been tried and tested for years. "They are hardly aggressive, stay on the combs, don't black out right away." that's important, too, because children and young people in particular quickly lose their enthusiasm if they're constantly being stung. "Naturally", so female becker "stings the carnica too – if you argue them." so be good, kids.