Bottles for the bees

St Angela of the Cross Primary School students and staff have recently undertaken a project they bee-lieve will help their school and local wildlife thrive.

The 'Bottles for Bees' campaign has seen students collecting bottles and containers for Victoria's Container Deposit Scheme, with the money raised going towards purchasing a variety of bee-friendly plants and trees for the schoolyard.

It's been a hit with the kids too - in just the first four weeks of the project, the school collected more than 11,000 containers.

Bottles for Bees was inspired by the youngest students at the school when the preps read the book 'Down the Road Little Bee' and has gained momentum since.
Each class chose a specific plant they'd like to see in the yard and are hoping they might allow the local bee population to flourish.

"We're trying to raise as much money for our class so we can get plants to help our favourite pollinators, bees," student Isla Baxter said.

"The number of bees have been decreasing over the years and by planting new bee friendly plants we can help bring the numbers back up so we can continue having our lovely pollinators."

"We're trying to get as much money as possible, most class have picked big trees. Our class has picked a magnolia," fellow student Oakley Ryan-Mahoney added.
The teacher in charge of the project, Mickey Davies, said the response from students had been overwhelming.

"I think the biggest thing out of it is don't underestimate kids and their ability to do things like this. Small actions have a massive impact and they've proven it with this and I'm proud of them."

St Angela of the Cross Primary School is welcoming donations of bottles and containers from the local community as part of Bottles for Bees.