In many communities, declining bee populations threaten agricultural productivity and biodiversity. By raising honeybees, we not only support pollination but also develop a deeper understanding of the interdependence between humans, animals, and the environment.
Start an apiary in our small town where we will learn about bee biology, hive management, and sustainable beekeeping practices while monitoring hive health and harvesting honey. We hope to grow more every year and pass this knowledge on to future youth.
The North Shore AgroEcology Center worked with a group of about 20 Finland area youth to plan the project- we decided to get a hive and decided the location at the farm together. Unfortunately, by the time the award arrived in June 2024, all distributers were sold out of bees since people typically order bees in April. Our backup plan was to buy a split colony from a neighbor, but the cloudy spring and massive flood we had up here June made her hives suffer and she was not able to sell to us. So, we decided to just learn more about beekeeping through videos and reading until we could buy a hive the next spring. We joined the Northeast Minnesota Beekeepers Association (NEMNBA) and bought a 3lb bee package through them in April 2025! We just hived this first hive and are looking forward to monitoring it and harvesting honey for the first time this summer.
We learned that many beehives do not survive the cold winter in our area and its important to order new hives early in the year (by mid-March). When hiving the bees, we learned about how the bees collect around the queen bee and take care of her through the mesh box until they eat through the candy protector and release her. We also learned that it is hard to get the bees out of the package! They grab onto each other and the sides and come out in clumps/chains.
We would make sure to order the bees early in the year so we would be able to get them in time to have them in the summer.
Our favorite parts were learning about how to take care of the hives, and then finally getting our hive and moving them into their boxes at the farm.
Fun fact: there are many different types of honeybees and they are each suited to different weather, are resistant to different diseases, and have different temperaments. We chose Carniolan bees because they have a gentle nature and they do well in winter.
