The Bee’s Knees: An Experience in Beekeeping
By Cecille Ernst
When I went onto one of the NC State student facebook pages to browse clothes, knick-knacks, and housing recommendations, a job opportunity wasn’t even on my radar. As the daughter of hobbyist beekeepers, and a student in the entomology minor, I have always had a fascination and love of bees, but it wasn’t until I saw a part-time/internship opportunity at Bee Downtown that I even thought it possible to work with them in a professional setting. Luckily for me, clicking the link on facebook opened my mind to the world of beekeeping, and all of the little things that go with it.
Bee Downtown is an environmental services company based on beekeeping, founded in Raleigh by NC State Alum, Leigh-Kathryn Bonner. Unlike most beekeeping companies that manage bees and bring them to crop fields to pollinate, Bee Downtown strives to cultivate a sense of community with the many people we work with. The company works with different partners, typically other companies, to set up and maintain beehives on their campuses. In addition to the hives, companies can also pay to engage their employees in different activities, including a Honey Camp, which is a group honey tasting exercise, and a Hive Tour, which includes suiting up in the beekeeping suits and inspecting the hives with our beekeepers. In addition, we also collect, bottle, and distribute the honey that comes from the partner’s bees back to that company, where they can indulge in the sweet reward of their busy bees. Though only 9 years old, the company has done very well, expanding to include another headquarter location in Atlanta, with hives stretching from Times Square in New York City, down to Tampa, Florida, and many other areas along the east coast.
The company itself is made up of many moving parts, with multiple teams and groups of people. As one of Bee Downtown’s interns, I have had the opportunity to do a bit of everything, and work with many of the other employees. When I first started, I was working a lot with the partner team. I was helping to set up and create Honey Camp exercises, along with our Bee Hotel projects. I learned how honey tastings worked, and the intricacies of setting up public engagement activities. This really helped me learn how to teach the public about science-based concepts, while using scientific rhetoric that was still easily understood. While working with the partners team I was also able to go out on a hive tour, where I was able to talk to the employees about bees, while also learning how to talk to them in an engaging manner. This was one of my favorite things I got to do, as I was able to handle the bees and show them to people. Watching people get up close and personal with them and realize how intricate they are was very fulfilling, and helped me realize how important these kinds of activities are.
During the colder months, I found myself in our warehouse a lot, working with the beekeepers to build, fix, and sort the frames. I learned how to use different tools, like an orbital sander, and I got pretty good with nails and a hammer. By working with these frames I was able to better understand the mechanics of a hive, and how each part functions to assist the bees and the beekeepers. This is helpful for when I am able to go out into the field with the beekeepers, and see how actual beekeeping is done. I really enjoyed this aspect because it gave me physical skills that I can continue to use in my day-to-day, along with potential future jobs. I also enjoyed learning about the tools and practices because I was able to see how creative beekeepers are, and how part of the job is coming up with new ideas and techniques to solve problems. If I’m not helping the partners team or beekeepers in the warehouse, I am most likely working with our art department on painting hives, where I have learned more about hive structure and how important it is. While this is one of the more fun jobs, (who doesn’t like painting), it also has had a lot of practical value as I have learned more about the different parts of the beehive, and the little tips and tricks that beekeepers use to correctly orient and distinguish which hives are which.
Another team at Bee Downtown is the honey house team. At the honey house we store, bottle, and send out our honey. The team works continuously to ensure that the correct honey is bottled, labeled, and shipped out to the correct partners, which can be very laborious as companies sometimes have over a hundred pounds of honey. Here, I have been able to see the different machines necessary for collecting honey, and have been able to learn how to use them. Although it may not seem like honey is hard to extract, it most certainly is. Working in the Honey house has also allowed me to understand the different natural processes that honey can go through, something I didn’t know existed until I started working at Bee Downtown.
Between all of my experiences I have been able to learn so much about the world of beekeeping and public engagement. I learned from this experience that I really love working with the public, especially when I get to show them nature up close. I also learned how much I love the field of beekeeping, and all of the different parts that play into it. I am so excited to see where beekeeping takes me as I continue in the field. I really loved this internship and all of the opportunity and knowledge it has provided me with. All of the employees, along with my boss, have created an empowering work place where we are encouraged to own our work, be creative, and, of course, care for the bees.