A Truly Un-bee-lievable Learning Moment for Prairie Rose Students

This week Prairie Rose Public Schools had the chance to turn an unexpected discovery into a golden learning opportunity. A Medicine Hat resident spotted a honey bee hive 🌱🐝💛 in a very unusual spot. These were not native bees, but the hardy farm friendly kind often found around pastures and fields across Southeastern Alberta.

What made this hive especially buzzworthy was the way the bees built it. Instead of choosing a cozy hollow tree, shed, or grainery, the colony created a large exposed nest in a place where hives like this are rarely seen. It seems they were not pleased with their former home and decided to bee-gone and start fresh. It is incredibly rare to witness bees rebuild like this, especially out in the open.

With temperatures dipping, time was of the essence. Bees need a protected space, a steady food source, and an insulated environment to form a winter nucleus. During winter the colony gathers around the queen and vibrates to keep her at a steady twenty five degrees. Talk about a natural heater.

In coordination with the City of Medicine Hat Parks and Recreation Department, the hive was carefully located, collected, and transported to Neubauer Farms. A very special thank you goes to Stella Sehn and Sheldon Hill, our long standing partners in the Prairie Rose Honey Program. Their expertise, quick action, and ongoing commitment to PRPS made this entire rescue possible.

The hive is now settling in with the rest of the Prairie Rose Honey colonies until their future home at the new Yuill School of Agriculture is ready.

This bee adventure is more than a rescue. It is an early preview of how PRPS students will learn to grow, protect, and strengthen the agriculture community in Southeastern Alberta. Real experiences, real ecosystems, real stewardship.