Our new Britannia School Garden bees have arrived and will provide tremendous new learning opportunities as well as ecological benefits to the garden. With the help of English teacher and professional bee keeper, Ashley McLeod, our new honey bees have become a reality. Most exciting is that Ashley has developed an interesting 3 semester English curriculum titled Focused Literary Studies: Environmental Studies and Beekeeping This focused literary study will generate opportunities in place based and experiential learning while fulfilling the learning learning outcomes for her students in Communications 12. The approaches to learning include the study and production of a variety of environmental texts (novels, poetry, research papers, journalism, folklore and instructional texts) as well as a field study of bees, beekeeping, the culture of the apiary and sustainable systems in our community. Through hands on experience working with bees, students will deepen their understanding of themselves and others in relation to the environment, locally and globally. Furthermore, students will study traditional Indigenous texts that emphasize the importance of connection to the land and the environment from a First People’s perspective and participate in a variety of workshops lead by Aboriginal educators and community members. The goals of the course are geared towards increasing environmental stewardship amongst youth while increasing literacy, communication skills and fostering a deepened understanding of themselves and others locally and globally. The course also provides a plethora of opportunities for cross curricular integration in subjects such as: biology, woodworking, foods, earth sciences and business.