A report on the first year of the society by pupil Lydia Fernandez
The Charterhouse Chickens and Bees Society was founded this year by Second Year Specialists (Year 13), Jay Porter, Max Vallance and Nils Raber, with the support of Mr James.
Although we are one of the newer societies, we are very proud of what we have achieved in a short space of time. We now have eight chickens and two hives of bees at the 'Charterhouse Farm', located in the picturesque Gownboys garden. Over the course of the year we have grown in size with pupils joining from across the School.
The society has had a positive effect on all its members. Caring for the chickens and bees has allowed us to develop many skills and has inspired us all to become more responsible. Mr James has also helped us explored the entrepreneurial side of the society, with us creating different management roles within the group and selling the eggs to members of staff. Once we have a good honey store from the bees we shall also be selling honey to the Charterhouse community.
Every week throughout the year, we have been on a bee course learning about the different stages in the life cycle of a bee and how to care and check on the bees in our hives. Now that we have completed our course we still meet every Wednesday to do a big clear out of the chickens and check on the bees. We also have a rota system where different members of the society are assigned a day to look after the chickens.
Historically, Charterhouse had a working farm with a variety of animals. We are considerably smaller than that but have plans to expand the society and possibly introduce bigger animals such as goats, and also to set up a vegetable patch.
Please follow our journey on Instagram: @charterhouse_farm
