BEES and biodiversity were the focus of a county councillor's visit to two first schools.
Children at Hexham First School and Henshaw First sampled homemade honey on toast during a visit from Councillor for Hexham East, Suzanne Fairless-Aiken.
She discussed the importance of bees, and why we need to protect them and plant more bee-friendly plants for forage.
Cllr Fairless-Aitken, who is a beekeeper in her spare time, said: "My bees are the rare Northumbrian bee which were thought to have been wiped out by the Spanish Flu in 1917.
"A colony was found in the roof of a church in Whitley Chapel in 2004 and many of the Hexham bee colonies are descended from that. Without bees, humans would only have a few years left on the planet. They are the most amazing creatures and mini-mathematicians," she said.
Headteacher of Hexham First, Justine Overton, said: "The children loved their visit from Suzanne and were fascinated to discover how important bees are in pollination. They learnt so many facts about all the different types of bees, how they help in nature and really enjoyed the waggle dancing to the bee song and tasting the delicious honey."
Be Hulbert, a teacher at Henshaw First School, said: "Suzanne came to talk about bees to the children in reception across the West Tyne Federation. In reception, we love learning about the world around us. We have been learning how to grow and care for plants and about minibeasts.
"Suzanne arrived in her beekeeping outfit which the children loved and set the tone for a fun, educational session, and really involved the children, asking about what they had already learnt. The children were engaged from start to finish. We look forward to having her back next year."
Cllr Fairless-Aitken said: "We are currently in the early stages of trialling an apiary at Hexham Town Council offices at St Andrew's Cemetery, with the help of the Hexham Beekeepers Association. The apiary is placed in our woodland site to encourage pollination and bring on planting for our biodiversity pledge."
If successful, it would become a Teaching Apiary offering the chance to study bees.
"People could also try their hands at beekeeping under supervision because it’s a real buzz," she said.
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