Armadale Senior High students have created a buzz with their innovation to support pollinators from the ravages of land clearing.
The Minister’s Innovation Challenge 2024 provided an opportunity for eight of the school’s year 8 students to engage in entrepreneurial education.
A total of 40 teams of year 8 students from WA public schools participated in the challenge this year, which required students to identify a local issue or problem and apply designing skills, and thinking processes to develop innovative solutions. Students were also assigned an industry mentor.
“It is integral that students have rich learning opportunities that equip them with the necessary thinking and skills to navigate real-life issues,” Education Minister Dr Tony Buti said.
“This challenge supports young people prepare to lead and innovate in our changing world and offers students the opportunity to connect with the local community as well as industry partners.”
The Armadale students decided to take on the pressing issue of land clearing in Armadale and its impact on local flora and fauna—especially bees.
Through research, discussions with the City of Armadale, beekeepers, and pest control workers, they discovered that bees are losing their natural habitats, forcing them to relocate to residential areas.
This often leads to bees building hives in places like roof gutters and under solar panels.
So, the students developed a creative and eco-friendly solution: bee hotels.
Using their problem-solving and hands-on skills, they built timber bee hotels, protected with metal sheets against the weather. And they added straws and bamboo, and drilled holes to provide cosy spaces for the bees to stay.
They also repurposed an old TV cabinet, and filled it with drilled clay bricks, clay pots with bamboo stick-created holes, and pine cones to fill gaps, all to mimic a bee-friendly environment.
While the students missed out on being named in the top 5 for the challenge, teachers expressed how astounded they were by their innovative approach, teamwork, and dedication to solving real-world problems.
As the final leg of the Minister’s Innovation Challenge, students visited the Armadale Council, where they were welcomed by the Switch Your Thinking team, who were delighted to receive the bee hotels.
Students also visited the Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and donated the remaining bee hotels.
