The answer, of course, is the indispensable though often misunderstood honey bee. And high school students at Archibald Rutledge Academy (ARA) in McClellanville, SC, are working hard to increase public awareness of the vital importance of the dutiful honey bee to human health and prosperity. In the "Bee Project," an honors science elective, students at ARA have studied the biology of the honey bee and botany of the Lowcountry, visited local bee keepers, attended the Lowcountry Beekeepers' Association's annual meetings, and visited the entomology department of Clemson University.

These activities prepared students for the challenge of managing seven bee hives donated to the school by Pete Wilson, an internationally recognized bee expert and former Department of the Interior biologist. Students then focused their study on the biology and ecology of bees specific to the Lowcountry and established connections in their community to teach citizens about the importance of honey bees as pollinators. Students wrote and directed a play about bees for children at the local public elementary school.

ARA's Head of School, Sally Burry, and Meredith Reeves, a junior at Middlebury College, and a graduate of ARA, initiated the project during the 1997-98 school year with a small grant from Write to Change, a non-profit literacy agency associated with the Strom Thurmond Institute at Clemson University. The success of the first year transformed the project into an ongoing interest of the school and the community.

ARA students compiled their research on honeybees into informative brochures, "The Buzz about Bees," detailing the benefits of bee-keeping for the local community. Sally Burry commented, "The students created a brochure that would contain information about honey bee biology and conservation which could be easily understood even by younger students." The brochure includes factual information on the biology of honeybees, honey extraction tips, a section called "Reasons to Admire and Protect Honey Bees," and a list of people in South Carolina who can be contacted for further information. The brochure was distributed to local schools and environmental education centers.

By researching, maintaining the hives, and cultivating honey, students became experts in the biology and care of the honey bee and developed a vested interest in local conservation. The students also became a resource of apiary knowledge in the community, and beyond. Students presented their work in January at the Strom Thurmond Institute. Their work will be displayed soon on the web site of the Literacy and Community Service Networks Team of the Strom Thurmond Institute, and ARA students will be featured in upcoming workshops for educators on "placed-based education," which advocates using local resources of the community in the curriculum. The participants in the project were recently nominated for a NatureScene Award from the ETV Endowment.

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