This large North Jersey city high school embraces Italian bees and their honey

Clifton High School, one of the largest urban schools in New Jersey, is proving that beekeeping clubs are not only for those in the state's more rural areas.

The city high school's recently established Beekeeping Club has just harvested its first batch of honey.

The idea to launch the club came from a discussion between teacher Katie Driscoll and security guard and football coach Terrance Brown, who share an interest in beekeeping and honey harvesting.

Brown said he and Driscoll discussed bees during lunch duty one day last year. He said Driscoll told him she had set up hives and was enjoying it.

After their talk, Driscoll approached Schools Superintendent Danny Robertozzi to ask about starting a club. Robertozzi green-lighted the idea, and the club took off.

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"I thought it was a cool thing to do," she said.

Clifton High School Student Council President Alias Ragsdale also got involved to make the idea a reality.

Brown said once they got the OK, they raised money to buy the equipment, which includes the hives, protective clothing and the bees. He said they bought Italian bees, the most popular among America's beekeepers.

You can start with buying about 15,000 bees and a queen for one hive, Driscoll said. A mature hive can have as many as 60,000 bees.

The Italian bee is easy to work with and is very productive, Driscoll said. October's yield from one hive was about 2 to 3 gallons.

The hive was set up near the entrance to the school's grounds last May. By next summer the club expects to get two harvests, one in July and the other in October.

The club is in the early stages and should be fully up and running at the beginning of next school year. Interested students may email kadriscoll@cliftonschools.net or tbrown@cliftonschools.net for more information.