Like the Nettie Coit Teaching Garden, D-E’s Apiary offers our students another on-campus opportunity for experiential learning. Grade 6 Dean Ms. Urbanowski recently facilitated a hive demonstration by beekeepers Simon and Ian, who assist with maintaining the bees and collecting the honey they produce. They shared information about the health of the hive and how the bees were preparing for the winter. Ms. Urbanowski brought her DIG (D-E In the Garden) Discovery class to discuss why bees, as pollinators, are essential for supporting the ecosystem of plants and crops. “Without pollinators, there would be no apples or blueberries or other fruit,” said Ms. Urbanowski. Also watching the demonstration were the Creative Writing Discovery class of 8th Grade Dean Ms. Miller, who gave an impromptu lesson on finding writing inspiration; and a few Middle School students from Ms. Rubalcaba Garrido’s World Language class, who learned the Spanish words for “bee” (abeja), “honey” (miel), and other related terms. Several students even put on beekeeping suits to observe the bees and their hive more closely. The buzz about bees will continue during D-E’s annual Honey Harvest on Thursday, October 30, when 1st and 6th graders as well as interested Upper School students will be able to see first-hand how raw honey is extracted from the honeycombs. Sweet!