Let’s Keep the Bees Buzzing

Ecosystems and conservation

by Hannah Taylor

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To consider the importance of bees in the ecosystem and what we can do to protect them.

Preparation and materials

• Have available an image of a bumble bee and the means to display it during the assembly. An example is available at: https://tinyurl.com/3v7df6zd
• Have available the following YouTube videos and the means to show them during the assembly.
  
  For Key Stage 1:
  - ‘Why are bees important?’, available at: https://youtu.be/Kdm9daKTRsc (5.41 minutes long)
  - ‘How to make a bee café!’, available at: https://youtu.be/lfbE5AUG5tM (7.46 minutes long)
  
  For Key Stage 2:
  - ‘Bee facts and information for children’, available at: https://youtu.be/v6tUWk7vC6g (10.50 minutes long)
  - ‘How to save the bees’, available at: https://youtu.be/8agS3YRkxOs (1.34 minutes long)

Assembly

1. Show the image of a bumble bee.
   
   Can anyone tell me what these buzzing bugs are famous for? 
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   Yes, that’s right. Making honey, pollinating flowers and crops, and lots more. Some people have said that our world could not last longer than four years without bees doing all their hard work.
   
   
2. Let’s have a little quiz about bees. For each statement, if you think that it’s true, raise an arm. If you think that it’s false, make a cross sign with your arms.
   
   - Bees have five eyes. (Answer: true)
   - Bees live in a dive. (Answer: false. Bees live in a hive.)
   - The bee in charge is called a queen bee. (Answer: true)
   - Bees live for ten years. (Answer: false. Worker bees live for around seven weeks; male bees live for around three months; and queen bees live for between three and six years.)
   - Male bees are called drones. (Answer: true)
   - Bees’ wings can flap 200 times per second. (Answer: true)
   
   
3. Bees are very important for our ecosystem: we couldn’t live without them. Bees pollinate our wild trees and wildflowers, which then support other insects. Those insects then support birds, bats and mammals, and so on up the food chain.
   
   Bees also help our crops to grow. Did you know that bees help broccoli, carrots, apples, raspberries and tomatoes to grow for us?
   
   
4. Unfortunately, we are seeing less and less of our beloved bees because they are losing their habitats. This is due to new buildings and roads being built, the chemicals that we use in our gardens and big changes to our weather patterns.
   
   
5. Show the YouTube video ‘Why are bees important?’ for Key Stage 1 (5.41 minutes long) or ‘Bee facts and information for children’ for Key Stage 2 (10.50 minutes long).
   
   Key Stage 1: ‘Why are bees important?’ 
   
   
   
   Key Stage 2: ‘Bee facts and information for children’
   
   
   
   
6. I hope that these videos have helped you to learn something interesting about bees. Now let’s find out how we can help to protect them.
   
   
7. Here are some examples of things that we can do.
   
   - Make a bee garden. Plant lots of beautiful wildflowers that bees love. Most seed packets will tell you if the seeds are bee-friendly.
   - Build a bee hotel. Use some wood and bamboo canes to build a bee hotel so that bees can lay a nest.
   - Stop using pesticides and chemicals in our gardens.
   - Plant trees for bees. Bees get most of their nectar from trees, so the more we have, the better.
   - Make a bee bath. Fill a shallow bird bath or bowl with fresh water, and put pebbles inside for the bees to stand on.
   - Support local beekeepers. Buy locally made honey and beeswax products. Many beekeepers use products from their hives to create soaps, lotions and beeswax candles.
   
   
8. Show the YouTube video ‘How to make a bee café!’ for Key Stage 1 (7.46 minutes long) or ‘How to save the bees’ for Key Stage 2 (1.34 minutes long).
   
   Key Stage 1: ‘How to make a bee café!’
   
   
   
   Key Stage 2: ‘How to save the bees’
   
   

Time for reflection

Let’s take a minute to think about the beautiful nature around us - the birds, bees, flowers and plants - and how we can all work together to make this world a better place for everyone. Let’s think about something that we could do to help support the bees with their pollination.

Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for our world.
Thank you for the beauty of nature and animals.
Thank you for bees and the important role that they play in our world.
Thank you for the way in which nature works together to make the world wonderful.
Amen.

Song/music

‘Baby bumble bee’, available at: https://youtu.be/amhqwoD0qjw (2.57 minutes long)

‘What a wonderful world’ by Sarah Kroger, available at: https://youtu.be/JkQk9R8MLUk (3.54 minutes long)