Apiary Club Spotlight

For years the Apiary Club housed 20,000 bees and produced plenty of honey. Sadly, over the summer, all the bees perished from a beetle problem. However,  the club is starting back up and planning to house two new hives within the apiary this spring, located in the shed behind the arena, where they will house almost 20,000 bees. 

The Apiary Club is a massive undertaking, requiring the maintenance of multiple hives of bees. The club is led by Co-Presidents Dylan Moyar ‘26 and Luca Mulligan ‘27, who will be leading the restarting operations in the spring with two new hives of Italian bees. During club meetings, members go to the apiary and check up on the bees and make sure the brood is healthy. When doing this, they wear protective beekeeping equipment to ensure they are safe. They also check honey yield and look for any potential dangers in the Apiary such as mite infestations. Helping to manage the finances and fundraising of the club is treasurer Max Shein ‘26. Despite being a relatively small club with five people, they are dedicated to caring for bees and producing honey from them. 

The Apiary Club also harvests beeswax and honey from the hives. They will utilize a smoker, a device that burns pine needles to calm down the bees. Next they will brush the bees off of the screens and use either a scraper or a centrifuge to extract the honey from the screens. Finally, they plan to sell processed honey or candles made from beeswax. They are planning on even selling flavored honey or honeycomb gum. Normally, they are able to sell their products in the school store by filtering the raw honey and making it edible. 

In addition to caring for the bees and harvesting, members also participate in community outreach events. In early February, the club hosted an event to teach the lower schoolers about the importance of beekeeping. Their presentation discussed the intricacies of beekeeping, the types of bees, and how their club operates. Through events like these, the club cultivates awareness of nature and ensures interest in the future of the club. They have also begun to work with other beekeeping enthusiasts within the Tri-Schools to further promote their club and bee-keeping in general this year. For example, Roland Park Country School is setting up its own apiary club in collaboration with Gilman students.

Luca gave insight into his goals for the club.“I think the bee club has a big possibility to be bigger… and have more merchandise.” One of these outlined goals was to focus on working collaboratively with the small but connected local beekeeping community and local businesses. On the community impact of the club, Luca said, “I’d say there is a huge sustainability aspect of this, and I think it is good to learn about where your food comes from.” When speaking about the community of the club, he commented that the club will have something to offer to everyone, “I think it’s attractive to a bunch of different types of people. There are people who are afraid of being stung… but you can be assured that there's a very high likelihood that you won't get stung at all. Every aspect of Bee Club can appeal to different types of people.” He wants those who are interested in the club to know that it is a large but fulfilling commitment. It includes learning about beekeeping, taking care of the apiary, naming the bees, community outreach, and fundraising.

Between the Apiary Club’s excellent honey and educational aspects, it is an exceptional student organization. Not only is Apiary Club a rare opportunity for students to learn about the intricacies of beekeeping but it is also a chance to be part of an excellent and novel community.