On July 16th 2024, my EDUC 441 class had the privilege of going out to Barry Clark’s property on Ness Lake Rd where we got to learn about, and spend time with, thousands of bees. The day began with Barry showing us around his property and then he provided us with endless information about bees. This included their history in North America and around the world, their life cycle, impacts of climate change, and how to get involved. Barry was incredibility knowledgeable and passionate about beekeeping and because of this he was able to make his workshop really engaging. The weather was extremely hot but I found myself ignoring it in favour of listening to Barry. At one point one of my cohort members had to remind Barry of our time restraints because everyone seemed to be caught up in all of the interesting stuff Barry was talking about. He could have spent the whole day talking. After talking to us, Barry invited those of us who wanted to try to suit up in the beekeeper gear and get up close to the bees. I was really excited to do this and was not disappointed. Barry led us right up to where the bees were kept and began to show us the honey making process. Hundreds of bees swarmed around us while he showed us around. This was one of the coolest experiences I have had during the Education program at UNBC and I hope that more classes are able to get out and experience this. Barry is a really great guy and it is obvious that he loves to educate people on the importance of bees! Barry also mentioned that eventually he wants to build infrastructure that would accommodate elementary and high school class field trips. This would be really cool and I would love to bring my classes there in the future because there are many different learning opportunities available.
