Perth campus buzzing with anticipation for Bee Club

When two business agriculture students at Algonquin College’s Perth campus used their knowledge and skills to create Bee Club, it turned out to be the sweetest combination. Their goal is to give back to the community and educate on the art of beekeeping.

During the fall semester, club leader Lauren Clemenger and co-leader Judd Andrew Ada used a blueprint created by graduated business-agriculture students to start Bee Club.

“We are now building on their foundation, continuing their dream to benefit future students,” said Ada.

Clemenger is an experienced beekeeper. She owns hives, tends to her bees and harvests their honey. The breed she currently works with is Ontario domestic bees, these honeybees are sourced from Perth County, Ont. and are known to be docile.

Ada has a degree in entomology, his knowledge of different insects is beneficial to the newly created club. According to Clemenger, Ada created a system similar to Brightspace containing visuals with information to educate members on the basics of bees and beekeeping.

“Most of beekeeping is knowing the education of the bee,” said Clemenger. “We need to educate our students before they go into the hive and endanger themselves.”

Thirty students have signed up since the creation of the club, which is six times the amount required to start a club on Perth’s campus.

“Given that most of our members are enrolled in the Business-Agriculture program, we decided to focus our club’s efforts on supporting students in this field, while also fostering appreciation for bees and agriculture among those with little to no prior knowledge,” said Ada.

The club charter breaks down the yearly process the club leaders aim to follow. During the winter, club members will learn, reflect and hone their skills while the bees hibernate. From spring to summertime, members will get the hands-on experience which involves working with bees and selling their honey at markets.

Majority of the club members are students in the same program as Clemenger and Ada, which inspired them to incorporate the club into their coursework to enrich the program.

“We’re also planning on doing a business plan for it so that our club can continue to go on and possibly turn into something that’s a tool the professors in the business-agriculture program can use,” said Clemenger. “Maybe create a course on bees, or they can use it for student jobs, or co-ops for the summer.”

The Bee Club’s ambitions are more than just spreading the knowledge of bees, they hope to create some buzz in the Perth community by planting flowers on campus to include those who aren’t fully intrigued in working with hives.

“We want to be able to plant some flowers on the campus so that the bees can pollinate and we can beautify our campus,” said Clemenger. “Judd’s idea is to allow seniors and the public to come in and look at the flower gardens, so if people aren’t interested in the hands-on [harvesting and working with bees], they can work on some horticulture.”

Miriam Musca, a second-year heritage carpentry and joinery student at Algonquin College’s Perth campus, is a member of Bee Club. She joined the club because of a personal interest in beekeeping.

“I live on a small hobby farm, so bees are something that we always wanted to do but it’s kind of hard to get into the knowledge of beekeeping,” said Musca. “I thought it was a great opportunity to learn all about it.”

When she joined the club, Musca was most interested in the production and harvesting process, but may not get the chance to participate in those activities since she is graduating this year.

Clemenger is also graduating this year and hopes to open the club to alumni. She will still be an active member in the club post-graduation, but will pass the leadership to Ada.

Tim Lee, the Perth operations coordinator, is supporting the club and its initiative. Clemenger said he is willing to tend to the flowers during the summer with the nursing students in the club who are enrolled during the off-season.

“It’s a great opportunity for not just the business-agriculture students, but all the students on campus and the staff as well are just interested to see and learn what it’s all about,” said Lee. “I’m here as a resource for them, if any assistance that the club leaders need, I’m helpful to answer any of their questions.”

Clemenger is working on collecting supplies during the winter and prepare for the first season with bees. According to the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association, “anyone who owns or is in possession of honey bees must register annually with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).”

Since Clemenger is licensed with the local Lanark Bee Association and Bee Club is a student-led enterprise with the goal to educate others on bees, the association donated supplies that will arrive in the spring.

“They’ll get all the information that they need to be able to then go into the hive, have an understanding of bees, and then we’ll [club leaders] work on getting the supplies and funding that we needed during the winter months, then we’ll set up the hives,” said Clemenger.

The club is hoping to expand for students outside of Perth using online resources such as Zoom. Clemenger said long distance club members can visit the hives on Perth’s campus to their own discretion.

“This initiative will support agri-tourism efforts and enable us to market honeybee by-products at local farmers’ markets,” said Ada. “Ultimately, our goal is to refine the program to ensure its sustainability, allowing the learning materials and the club’s legacy to endure at Algonquin College, even without the involvement of current key members.”