Two girls from Grade 9 at Kingswood College walked away with the coveted first place prize of a scholarship each for a year’s study at Rhodes University alongside a gold medal, in the Eskom Expo Regional Finals held on Friday 20 July in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. The pupils showcased an innovative project that uses trained honey bees that have the ability to detect rhino horn.

The girls, Jamie-Lee Stone and Louise Poole, submitted their project called "Saving the Rhino: training the honey bee", with the objective being that after training honey bees using a reward system, they would be able to associate the smell of kudu horn with rhino horn. The girls also pointed out that the use of honey bees is also a cost effective mechanism, as they are easier and cheaper to transport to border posts where they can possibility be utilised to help detect substances like rhino horn, and help curb the devastating rhino horn poaching trade!

The girls also won cameras from Eskom, for the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists Best Female Project Special Prize. They will now need to upgrade and present their project at the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists International Science Fair, formerly known as the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists National Final, at the Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre, Bartlett, Boskburg from 4-6 October 2012.