Today we introduce the newly-founded Beekeeping Club. We talk to Biological Sciences major Michael Hoban, club president, as he discusses what the Beekeeping Club is, what members will do on a daily basis and his personal responsibilities within the club.
What is the Beekeeping Club? What is the goal of this club? What will members of this club do on a regular basis?
The Beekeeping Club is a club that values and encourages anyone and everyone to join! Members can be individuals who either know nothing about beekeeping or have heard about it and are interested in learning the practice of it.
Because winter is the off-season for beekeeping, the winter semester will be focused more so on learning about the practice and the importance of beekeeping. Within the spring semester, members will be able to actually go out to the bee hives and collect honey. The sole purpose of this club is education and being able to apply what you’ve learned to hands-on experience.
What is your personal role and responsibilities associated with the Beekeeping Club? How did you get involved with this?
Dr. Kruse created this club with the help of team members from her Social Insect Lab. During the summer, Dr. Kruse sat down with her student researchers and basically asked us if we would be interested in creating this Beekeeping Club. Because we have hives on campus, she thought it would be a good idea to introduce beekeeping to the entire Rowan community.
Within this club I am the President; however, it is important to note that all members of this club have equally important roles. Instead of taking the lead, I love working with all the other members to collaborate and make decisions.
What do you think your favorite part of this club will be?
I am just excited to see everyone’s reaction when we actually step outside to the hives in our suits. A lot of individuals tend to be scared of bees, especially bees in big volume. However, I am excited to see the reactions of members when seeing a hive open for the first time right before their eyes.
How can students, professors, and peers purchase the extracted honey collected by the Social Insect Lab?
Right now we sell the honey at any club fairs we attend. However, we hope to have more fundraising events to sell our honey as this is our main source of profit which allows us to purchase more hives and build the club.
What are your goals and aspirations for the future for this club? Do you have a passion for saving the bees? Do you aspire to spread awareness on saving the bees?
I hope every member learns the importance of a honey bee. Yes, it is fun to do all of this and extract our own honey and work closely with hives, however, I hope if members learn anything, they learn why we created this club and how important bee conservation is. I also hope members help educate other members of the community that may not be in the club. It would be awesome if members teach others what they learn.
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Story By:
Natalie DePersia, junior public relations major
Photos courtesy of:
Michael Hoban and the Beekeeping Club
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