New Bee-ginnings at Parker!

September 19, 2025
Learning is in our nature, and Parker’s campus plays a vital role in the lives of our students. Nature serves as a catalyst for their joy and discovery. Our faculty and staff are thoughtful about developing curriculum and experiences that cultivate connections with nature while also empowering students as caretakers. With this in mind, we are thrilled to share the latest BUZZZZ that beekeeping has returned to Parker!

Spearheaded by our Garden Coordinator, Erin Walsh, and middle school science teacher, John Sherry, our new hive is made possible thanks to a joint grant from the Whole Kids Foundation and the “Bee Cause Project,” which supports bringing bees into schools. As Erin explains, “I felt bees would make an obvious, synergistic addition to Parker’s gardening program. I knew that John was very interested in bringing bees to the school, so I applied for the grant and shortly thereafter received funds to support the purchase of bees and beekeeping equipment.”
As part of the grant application, Parker also needed a “bee mentor” – a member of the community who was a senior beekeeper and would be able to advise us in the bee keeping journey. Tony Antonucci, who previously helped with bees when they were last at Parker, graciously stepped into the role and continues to generously offer his support and guidance throughout the process.
We acquired our bees last May, and they have lived at Parker for one whole summer. As John explains, “They had a bit of a rocky start. The over-wintered hive that we were planning to acquire fell in the Big Bee Loss of 2024, so we got a spring hive with a brand new queen. It wasn’t really tested, and unsurprisingly, the bees swarmed to drive out the queen early in the season. We had to work throughout the summer to tend the hive. However, the bees responded the way nature intended. They eventually re-queened themselves, and our new queen is now laying up a storm. The top honey super of the hive is almost filled, and they have come back in strong fashion.”
With school back in session, Parker students are now also eager to learn about and join in the caretaking. Several brave and responsible middle schoolers have even volunteered to don beekeeping suits themselves and assisted John with hive inspections, recording data on brood, food, and temperament. Ultimately, a huge goal of the program is to inspire a holistic “pollen-to-table” program at Parker that will educate and involve students in agriculture and ecology, allowing them to become intimate experts on our food cycle.
John shares another objective that is a bit more personal. “I think another big goal for me is getting people out of their comfort zone. I will be the first to admit that my mom laughed when I told her I wanted to get into beekeeping because I HATE stinging insects. But interacting with this hive, and seeing firsthand that bees are actually very gentle, has literally changed my life. I am much more confident in nature because I have real-world experience knowing just how much it takes to aggravate most stinging insects. I really want to help kids experience and understand nature so they can not be so scared of things.”

Erin adds, “Having kept bees myself, I have seen how intriguing their secret world can be. My children have always loved donning their bee suits and getting into the hives, curious to see what is going on inside. Bees are able to naturally inspire curiosity amongst people of all ages. I feel like that makes them a natural fit for Parker.”