Education

Our work in schools gives young people practical beekeeping skills, inspires environmental awareness and is the perfect complement to our work in the community. Students are empowered to take their skills home and teach their families about the benefits of bees and beekeeping.

At university level, students gain a solid foundation in apiculture and enterprise development, equipping them for careers in the sector and preparing them to become future leaders.

11kgs

Buzz Clubs in Ghana

330

students attending Buzz Clubs in Ghana

13

Buzz Club teachers trained in Ghana in 2024

Buzz Clubs

Five children in yellow shirts hold signs with environmental messages: "Keep Bees," "Stop Deforestation," "Plant More Trees," "Preserve Our Dying Forest," "Stop Bushfires." A diverse group stands behind them, reflecting a supportive community.

Pupils from Donkorkrom Buzz Club attend an environmental event

Ghana

Buzz Clubs offer the opportunity for school children to learn about bees and other pollinators, the role of bees in food production, and biodiversity conservation. The children also learn the craft of beekeeping to produce honey and other hive products, as well as developing their entrepreneurial skills at this young age.

In 2024, 13 schoolteachers took part in five days of intensive training to teach these clubs. They were equipped with the skills necessary to teach sustainable beekeeping with hands on sessions on local-style hive making, lighting of smokers and apiary establishment and management. There are currently 11 Buzz Clubs in Ghana with 330 students attending.

“This training has opened my eyes to the critical role bees play in our ecosystem. I’m excited to share this knowledge with my pupils and to see them become passionate about beekeeping and environmental conservation. The skills we’ve gained here will help us guide the next generation toward more sustainable practices.

I’m particularly excited about the value addition especially the preparation of cough mixture and candles. I’m happy we have a simple and easy to make remedy for cough which common among my pupils. Kids learning how to make candle to help them make their own candle at home, so they use it as source of light to do their homework – most communities around Afram Plains have no electricity.”

– Ms Olivia Kafui, Teacher at Atakora Basic School

Educating apiculture leaders for the future

Jarret Mhango, former apiculture lecturer at Mzuzu University, visiting a nearby beekeeper’s apiary with students

Malawi

We are partnering with Mzuzu University to enhance apiculture education by ensuring students benefit from practical training, alongside the theory. We provide hands-on training so they have essential beekeeping skills. We provide of hive-making tools, safety kits, and reference materials to support their learning. A key initiative from the partnership is the establishment of a training apiary on campus, where students engage in hive management and honey harvesting

Apart from technical training, students explore forest conservation and sustainable land-use practices by understanding how healthy ecosystems support beekeeping, and vice versa. This partnership is creating a generation of leaders committed to environmental sustainability, forest conservation and wealth creation through apiculture.

“Teaching beekeeping has been rewarding, allowing me to merge conservation with sustainable livelihoods. Through apiculture education, students, farmers, and communities are empowered with knowledge and skills to protect forests while benefiting economically.”

– Edwin Hara, Lecturer in Forestry and Apiculture at Mzuzu University

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Case Study

We wanted to make it as easy as possible for Buzz Club teachers to plan lessons and activities for the kids, and to have a reference resource at hand. This prompted us to develop the Buzz Club Teachers Handbook.

The Handbook is designed around 30 sessions to be delivered over two years, 15 for year 4 pupils and 15 for year 5 pupils. Sessions are a mix of theory and practical – always with lots of ideas for activities for the children and covers an introduction about how bees live, their importance for people and the environment, how to set up an apiary and all aspects of basic beekeeping.

Content from the Buzz Club Teachers Handbook fits well with the school curriculum:

“Learning about beekeeping and the environment aligns well with our school’s science and environmental education curriculum. It provides a practical and engaging way to teach concepts such as ecosystems, biodiversity, and conservation. The club activities complement the classroom learning and encourage the children to apply their knowledge in real-world contexts”.

– Michael Baah Narh, Abotanso Buzz Club

One of the exciting aspects of Buzz Club is the way the pupils take their learning home. Most rural families rely on farming for their livelihoods and beekeeping can generate much needed income.

Prosper Akoto from Atakora Basic School explained, “We had a recent report from Amu Christiana. Her father has 5 local style hives but has been struggling to manage them. He does not even know the materials used in baiting hives. Through lesson from club sessions, and what Christiana observed from our apiary set up sessions, she advised her father on what to do”.