13 March 2025 | Faces lit up with joy during the Native Bee Guardian workshop at Bicheno Primary School this month.
Dr Yolanda Hanusch and Dr Shasta Henry with the Grade 5/6 students practicing how to tell the difference between a fly and a bee, based on their antennas. Photo credit: Bianca Burford.
Native Bee Guardian workshop
Led by the enthusiastic Dr Shasta Henry and Dr Yolanda Hanusch, students set off on a journey of discovery about our amazing native bees. From inside the library and classroom, they explored the world of bees - their diversity, their numbers, what they eat, the bee life cycle, and more.
Then they put their newfound bee and pollinator ID skills to the test in the school's garden, investigating the space, searching for pollinator-friendly plants, and conducting a bee roaming survey.
The day concluded with an afternoon community session, welcoming parents and community members to join the conversation on native pollinators. Mark Lawrence from the Bicheno Landcare group attended the session. The Bicheno Landcare Group and the Bicheno Primary School have worked together in the past on planting projects around the town. The students are very keen to assist the Landcare group to plant pollinator friendly plants in autumn this year.
There are so many different types of bees out there! Students investigate their sizes and shapes with Dr Shasta Henry. Photo credit: Bianca Burford.
What is a bee hotel?
One of the topics covered during the workshop was bee habitat. Many of us know that bee hotels provide habitat for native bees in our backyards and people often purchase them from hardware shops. However, when we talk about bee hotels, it's important to note that Tasmanian native bees have unique habitat needs - and they may not be suited to a bee hotel designed for mainland Australia or America.
Most native bees, worldwide, are solitary. Rather than living in a large community hive, like honeybees, solitary bees make their own ‘hive for one’ by tunnelling into soft plant stems (reed nesters), into wood (cavity nesters) or into soil (burrowing bees). This is where they lay their eggs in individual cells.
Workshop success
"The Native Bee Guardian pilot workshop was a huge success," said Landcare Tasmania Education Coordinator Bianca Burford. "The students were really engaged and through the activities, they fostered a deeper connection to their local environment within their school garden. It was so rewarding to see students who took the workshop helping others in the playground to identify native pollinators."
"We heard a lot of comments initially about students being afraid of bees because they can sting, at the beginning of the workshop, compared to afterwards where we heard: 'I have a little bit of pollen on my finger and I am going to stand very still in the garden to see if a native bee will land on me.'"
After the workshops wrapped up, Landcare Tasmania gifted Bicheno Primary School native bee posters and a native bee observation hive to set up in their school garden.
And in other exciting news, thanks to conversations stemming from this workshop, the Bicheno Landcare group is engaging in future planning for a community planting day which will include students from the school.
Students share their thoughts on native bees
"I think native bees are very interesting and I never really knew that there were so many different types of native bees in Tasmania!"
"The flies that camouflage themselves to look like bees are very clever. Now I know how to tell the difference - it's easy!""I like the masked bees - they look like Batman!"
"The students were very keen to take all that they learned and are planning with the teachers to make native bee hotels out of materials in their gardens, like pithy stems of blackberries, and ferns."
"It is a great idea to bring nature to the students."
Image gallery
- The Elsie Flood Foundation for their funding support for the Native Bee Guardians pilot program.
- Dr Yolanda Hanusch (specialist in agro-ecological landscapes, pollination ecology, ecological restoration) and Dr Shasta Henry (specialist in entomology, ecology and science communication) for their engaging delivery, content and photos.
- Tristan Skerratt for the pollinator photos.
- Fullers Bookshop for donating the Tasmanian Native Bee posters.
- Bicheno Landcare Group for their community involvement and planning for a planting day with the students.
- And the Bicheno Primary School students for diving into the Native Bee Guardians workshop with enthusiasm!
