The Bee Cause Project Brings a Living Observation Hive — and a Year of Discovery — to Fayette Academy
This school year, the Fayette Academy Ecology Club welcomed one of its most exciting additions yet: a live indoor observation beehive, installed in the biology lab through a grant from the Bee Cause Project. Students can now watch honeybees at work up close — building comb, tending brood, and communicating through their famous waggle dance — without ever leaving the classroom.
The project is guided by Dr. Jimmy Murphy, our school’s bee expert, who also generously donated the bee watering station now stationed in the garden. Ecology Club students have taken on the daily responsibility of feeding the bees and keeping the watering station filled — a small act of stewardship that keeps a vital pollinator population thriving right on our campus.
“Bees are one of the best teachers we have,” one Ecology Club member noted. “You can watch them and learn about teamwork, communication, and taking care of your community — all at the same time.”
The hive isn’t just for Ecology Club members, either. This year, students in grades 3, 4, 6, and 7, along with our Biology and Biology Honors classes, will take a deep dive into the world of bees and pollinators through labs in the biology lab under the direction of Donna Burrus. Lessons will explore why pollinators matter to our food supply, how the hive community function, bee anatomy, and what each of us can do to protect these essential insects.
🍯 Hands-On Labs Coming This Year
• Honey tasting: comparing flavor, color, and aroma across different varieties of honey
• Beeswax lip balm making: a hands-on lesson in how bees’ own materials become everyday products
• Live hive observation: ongoing study of bee behavior and colony life through the observation hive
This new chapter builds on years of hands-on ecological education at Fayette Academy, joining Mary Margaret’s Garden, Bee’s Bounty Community Garden, and our growing menagerie of student-cared-for animals. Together, these programs continue to give our students something increasingly rare: the chance to learn science by doing it, with their hands in the soil and now, an entire hive of honeybees inside the classroom door.
The Ecology Club extends its heartfelt thanks to Dr. Jimmy Murphy for his expertise and generosity, and to the Bee Cause Project for making this remarkable learning opportunity possible.
