Community garden project takes sting out of bees for kids

When some kids see a bee, they scream and then run in the opposite direction.

Not the kids at the Honey With Heart project.

On Saturday, children at the Spryfield garden and beehive sat calmly while bees crawled all over their arms.

"I don't think he can fly," says one child. "I think he's hurt."

"You should pet him," says another.

"No, if you pet a bee it'll sting you."

"I just pet a few bees earlier. They're so soft."

A learning opportunity

The children — and the bees — are part of a community project that allows residents to learn about beekeeping while helping their community at the same time.

The Spryfield project is modelled on a similar one that started in north Dartmouth last July, says Donna Morrison, the executive director of Family SOS, which oversees the hives.

"The youth in the Greystone community in Spryfield said, 'Well, if they can have bees, why can't we have bees?' And we said, 'That's a great question. You can have bees.'"

Morrison said the children are busy with the hives in the summer and will learn about sales and marketing this fall when honey is harvested and they take it to the market at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth.

"It takes a lot of hard work and patience and teamwork," Morrison said. "When you come into this hive, there are bees everywhere and you have to work together in order to keep the bees calm and be able to do the hive checks effectively and efficiently."

Morrison doesn't expect the hives to yield a lot of honey this year, but hopes the harvest will grow as time passes.

Growing community

The project is supported by the Telus Atlantic Canada Community Board, which funds small community projects in Atlantic Canada to the tune of $500,000 each year. This project received $13,500.

On Saturday, volunteers gathered at the Cranberry Court site to build raised garden beds, plant vegetables and, of course, keep an eye on the bees.

A uniformed Halifax Regional Police officer has her hands buried in the soil of one of the garden beds, and calls out for a tomato cage. One of the kids comes over and offers help planting some of the seeds.

"Push it down until it gets this deep in the dirt," she tells him.

Before the day is done, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, squash, kale and radish will be growing.

Morrison says the kids involved in the project end up teaching other kids and adults in the community.

"They're learning so many skills that they don't even realize they're learning so they're going to take away some great life skills, some great business skills and just that desire to give back to their community."