Objects of Substance - BGGS' Native Bees

2020 - Inside the BGGS native beehive.

Towards the end of 2022, an opportunity to participate in the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Native Bee Citizen Science Project was identified by the Communications and Engagement Team. The GECO Club jumped at this chance to observe the bees, collect data, and contribute to research around how Australian stingless bee colonies reproduce. Prior to the start of the research, an important hive health check was carried out as low activity had been noted—not unusual as native bees prefer temperatures above 20 degrees. However, the culprit was not the cold but something a little more sinister. Thanks to Mr Rob Hetherington in Property and Facilities, the bees are now elevated out of reach from our resident Eastern Water Dragons ( Intellagama lesueurii ). 2023 GECO student leaders; Cara Battaglia (12H), Isabella Byrne (11M), Evie Kolff van Oosterwijk (11M), Emily Wells (11E), and Ellie Wild (12R) and, staff coordinators, Mrs Sacha Cross and Ms Caitlin Simic, collaborate as Citizen Scientists every Monday lunch to observe the hive and record key bee behaviours. Mrs Cross shares “The native bees at BGGS are much-loved members of the GECO community. When we count our bees, often other students will stop to ask us what we are doing and it’s a great opportunity for them to spread the word about the importance of the bees. As little is known about native bees the students also like to discuss their roles as community scientists and explain that they are sharing our data with UQ. As a Science teacher, it is also wonderful to observe the students applying the skills they have gained in their curriculum Science lessons regarding data collection, to real-life scenarios.” Mrs Cross adds “My favourite part of our citizen science project is that the bees allow the students to recognise that all environmental factors are interconnected in the living world. What we do in our School environment can have great impacts on our bee-loved bees (pun intended), so the students always have the welfare of the bees in mind when planning for future projects. We are currently discussing how to increase the native biodiversity around the School for our bees—our bees care for us by pollinating our native flora, so we like to care for our bees in return.” Video

The School’s hive is one of over 400 registered in Australia, and one of more than 300 in Queensland, providing important data for the project. Ultimately, the aim of UQ’s research is for the findings to be