Marymount Students Learn About Bees

By: Sybella Petrescu

Photos by Pixabay

ARLINGTON, Va. — Marymount’s beekeeping program, started in 2021, is teaching students about bees’ importance to the planet and inspiring their interest in maintaining bee colonies.

Pollution, habitat loss, and climate change have caused a rapid decline in the population of bee colonies, according to researchers such as Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex. Because of this, there has been a growing understanding of the importance of bees and other pollinators to the planet.

Bradford Garmon, an adjunct professor, teaches the beekeeping course at Marymount. The course is a collaborative research course, in which students are introduced to apiary science, learn the fundamentals of beekeeping, and as well as learn about what is going on inside a beehive and how to manage it.

Izabella Petrescu, a student who has taken the beekeeping course last fall, answered questions about the course in an interview:

Q: What do you think is the purpose or goal of the Beekeeping Course?

“I think the purpose is to get more knowledge about honeybees and understand the benefits they have for our society. The course is still fairly new, but later on, in the program, there will be a research aspect to understanding how honeybees work, what they do, and how they benefit us.”

Q: Did you have any previous knowledge about beekeeping and bees in general before taking this course? And did this influence your reasoning behind taking this course?

“I did not have any knowledge about beekeeping or bees before taking this course. In a way, it did influence my choice of taking this course because I was very interested in learning how beekeeping worked and how to take care of bees.”

Q: How did you find out about the Beekeeping Course?

“When classes start to open, the science department posts research or internship opportunities we could take for the semester. Dr. Rimbkus sent an email about a list of research opportunities and how a new program was opening up that was about beekeeping.”

Q: How has the course impacted you?

“It impacted me in many ways. I was able to learn cool facts about honeybees. I know how to distinguish between males and females. I know how their social structure works. I’ve also researched the benefits of honeybees and how without them it would alter our ecosystem into a decline. If I’m able to in the future, I would love to be able to host honey bees in my own backyard.”

Karla Dorado, a student who has taken the beekeeping course last fall, answered questions about the course in an email:

Q: What do you think is the purpose or goal of the Beekeeping Course?

“I would say that the purpose or goal of the beekeeping course is to educate students on the importance of bees in our ecosystem and provide an opportunity to learn about a particular species more in-depth through research and fieldwork. The beekeeping course allows students to actively assist in sustaining a colony of bees on campus. We are taught the essentials of how these bees interact with their environment, the life cycle of a bee, how a colony functions and what is necessary for it to be successful.”

Q: Why did you choose to take the Beekeeping Course?

“I chose to take the beekeeping course because it was something new and interesting that I could try. I’m a biology major with a pre-med concentration, so a lot of my volunteer experience and attempts at research have had to do with more human-centered, medical subjects. However, I am interested in all aspects and branches of science, so I felt that taking this course would be a great opportunity to broaden my knowledge and gain a new experience. Working with other living organisms that aren’t human is always a really cool experience!”

Q: How has the course impacted you?

“This course has given me a chance to branch out and explore a different field of scientific study. I am now more aware of the importance of these creatures in our environment, as well as of the many problems that are currently threatening the lives of bees and other pollinators across the globe. It has given me a better view of the world around me and a desire to learn more about as many different things as I can. Being out there with the bees and getting to peek inside the hive during inspections is such an amazing experience! They are incredibly organized and the entire colony is like one big machine that never stops running. I have a greater appreciation now for bees and other animals.”

Q: What do you think should be done to make the course more well known?

“I think the course should remain at Marymount as a research opportunity depending on the instructor’s availability, which would mean that it would still be included in any updates from the biology department whenever they promote potential research projects for students to participate in. I’ve also seen flyers around campus promoting different courses, so that might be another idea to increase participation in the course.”

Garmon, an apiarist, answered questions about his beekeeping course in an email:

Q: Why bring the beekeeping course to Marymount?

“I run a small apicultural consulting company in Arlington which seeks to promote science-based beekeeping and habitat development. I work with many organizations that are environmentally conscious and interested in providing homes for honeybees, especially in the cities. Studies have shown that urban honeybee colonies are healthier and have higher honey production yields than their rural counterparts. Because Marymount has a strong commitment to Environmental stewardship, I contacted the Biology department to look at partnership ideas. That discussion led to the beekeeping course on campus. It was only a few years ago that Virginia was the third highest state in the US for honeybee losses with close to 65% of the state’s total population dying over winter. Habitat development is a key force-multiplier in improving honeybee populations, which are said to be an indicator species for the health and wellbeing of other living things including humans.”

Q: What kind of impact is the course trying to make on Marymount students?

“Many people keep honeybees for a variety of reasons. Some are inspired by the scientificcomplexity of them, others find managing the colonies as a source of stress relief. People of all backgrounds can learn a lot about the importance of their own community by studying the biomimicry of the colony: How each individual insect cannot survive without the entire community, and how their lives are dedicated towards the survival of the entire colony, not an individual bug. Apicultural sciences is also an area of science that is the subject of current study. By this I mean we are discovering new things about honeybees every year. We are identifying and battling different diseases and parasites and learning how to tweak our management practices to promote stronger genetics. Even more exciting for college students is many of these internationally significant scientific findings and studies have been conducted by very young scientists and scholars.”

The Beekeeping Course (Bio 433-B) is available to all Marymount students, not just students majoring in Biology. The bees are located behind the Reinsch library where students can observe from a safe distance.

There is also a “bee club” in the process of being created where students will be able to “help out with the campus hives, promote bee friendly environmentalism, and even sell honey and beeswax products,” Garmon said. So be on the lookout for that! If you’re interested in taking the Beekeeping course you can reach out to Professor Garmon or Dr. Rimkus.