Irene-Wakonda bee club buzzes with exciting plans

Apr. 25—IRENE, S.D. — There is a buzz of excitement surrounding the halls of the Irene-Wakonda School. A group of students who formed a science/bee club last year is gearing up for a season of fostering beekeeping enthusiasm and education.

Founded just last spring, a mere three days before the school year ended, the club reformed this past fall and the club has quickly become a hive of activity, drawing in members eager to explore the fascinating world of beekeeping.

"Bees are fascinating. Each bee plays a specific role in the survival of the hives," said Lydian Mews, a sophomore bee club member. "Bees are important pollinators, and it feels good to play a role in increasing their population."

Led by science teacher Landra Knodel, the club's activities center around monitoring two buzzing hives, going on field trips and selling pure honey at school — the sweet fruits of their labor. The club is about 20 members strong right now. During harvesting season last fall, the club had about 10 members consistently who would come and help with that laborious task.

"I hope to get more interested and involved as we go on," Knodel said. "I think it will get bigger and bigger over the years."

Knodel is a newcomer to the world of bees herself. She got the idea of high school beekeeping after receiving an email from a teacher, Spencer Cody, from Edmunds Central School in Roscoe, inviting teachers from around the state to come to his grant funded two-day Honey Bee Education Institute, Knodel was intrigued. She pitched the idea to her superintendent, Dave Hutchison, who has a beekeeping background. A native of Burke, Hutchison and his two brothers grew up around bees thanks to their father who had 750 colonies of bees as a side business. Hutchison's brother Brad is now the owner of Hutch's Honey in Burke and has over 4,600 colonies of bees.

"I try to get to Burke a couple times in the summer and become a beekeeper for a few days," Hutchison said. "Mrs. Knodel's new venture has certainly brought back great memories and rejuvenated my interest in beekeeping."

It was at that institute in Roscoe where Knodel constructed the club's first bee hives and where she received the 50,000 bees from, which arrived last May. Knodel was given two nucs (five-frame hives of bees with bees, brood and a queen) to get started. When Hutchison's brother heard what Knodel was doing for her students, he donated an additional two nucs as well as some bee equipment (boxes, pallets, lids, etc) so that the school could have four colonies of bees.

A second opportunity arose out of Dordt University that Knodel was chosen to be a part of as well. Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa received a $500,000 grant from the National Institute of Agriculture (NIFA) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Through that grant, "Bringing Effective and Engaging Science Teaching into the Generation Z (Beestingz) Classroom using Apiculture," Dordt University hosted some workshops last summer aimed at training secondary school teachers to capture the interest of Generation Z students in the sciences and address pollinator decline utilizing honeybees.

Knodel, along with 11 other teachers from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota were trained in beekeeping and were able to develop curriculum related to beekeeping opportunities to promote STEM education. They engaged in four 2-day workshops last summer and will be doing another this upcoming summer.

Last fall, the Irene-Wakonda students were able to complete their first harvest from the bees. Knodel and Hutchison brought the bees' combs to the school where students harvested honey from them. They got hands-on experience processing honey by pulling honey off combs themselves. Then they put the honey through a series of purification steps, including straining, sifting and extraction.

In their first season, the club produced about 220 pounds of honey, which was bottled into one-pound bottles and sold for $10 each. Funds generated through the honey sales are reinvested back into the club to purchase supplies and equipment.

It won't be long before the school is buzzing with colonies of honeybees again. The bee club is waiting for its shipment of bees to arrive back to the school. During the winter, Irene-Wakonda's bees hitched a ride to Texas with Hutchison's brother to spend the winter at his farm down there to get away from the cold. He takes several semi-loads down to Texas for the winter each year.

The bees, Knodel explained, can survive in the extreme temperatures of South Dakota winters. But to survive winters here, they huddle together in their hives and generate heat by vibrating their bodies. They would also need about 100 pounds of honey to feast on throughout the long cold season. By sending the bees to Texas, the bee club doesn't have to worry about leaving any honey for the bees and can instead steal all the honey that is harvested.

"According to my brother, the I-W bees look great," Hutchison said. "He has split the bees into additional colonies so that the I-W Bee Club can grow from four colonies to eight colonies of bees for the upcoming summer."

Thanks to the breeding and the splitting of hives that occurred, I-W should have approximately 300,000 bees this season. Knodel is excited for another harvesting season, hoping to equip club members with knowledge and skills needed for successful beekeeping.

It's been a safe experience so far. The club members do wear full protective suits, Knodel said.

"I was mortified the first time I went out to a beehive. My heart was racing," Knodel said. Hutchison added, "I am still waiting for Mrs. Knodel to get stung by a bee — she thinks this is all fun and not work!"

Knodel's goal for this upcoming harvesting season is to try their hand at working with the beeswax and experimenting with making chapstick and lotion, among other products.