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DOWAGIAC — A local club is celebrating five years of educating southwest Michigan about nature’s most famous pollinator.

Established in 2019 by Theodore Schrader and Brad Cloutier, the Berrien/Cass Beekeepers Club is a nonprofit that merges hobby beekeepers and commercial beekeepers alike with a commitment to education as a member of the Michigan Beekeepers Association. The club is dedicated to promoting responsible beekeeping practices, fostering a supportive community of bee enthusiasts and sharing knowledge about honeybees and the vital role they play in the ecosystem.

“We have so much interest and we’re so excited because more members means more mentors for new members,” said club treasurer Maya Miller, who houses the club’s apiary on her farm, Honey Hill Farms in Dowagiac. “We want to be able to get to the next level where we have more advanced classes and can have honey extracting workshops and things like that. Some people are really into it for bee genetics, some people are really into it for the environment. There’s all these different niches and the more we grow, the more we can explore those things.”

The club meets from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month at Southwestern Michigan College’s O’Leary building (room 301) to host presentations and guest speakers to discuss bee related topics and provide education. 

“There are topics like mite control, getting your hives ready for winter, equipment and treatment options, native plants that are best to put in your yard,” she said.

The club also offers services for swarms of honeybees that are out in the open. In addition, the club also hosts apiary days – typically two per month – that allow members to take a more hands-on approach to beekeeping. Monthly club meetings and apiary days are open to the public.

“We usually have about 30 people here on a Saturday and it’s getting into the hives, It’s wearing suits, learning how to use a smoker, how to adjust your frames, all those things.”

Membership dues are $25 for an individual or $40 per household.  Students enrolled in minimal credit hours pay no dues. According to Miller, the club currently has 28 members as interest continues to grow.

“We’ve had a number of people that have found us who wanted to bring their kids for their interest and then the parents get into it,” Miller said. “Oh yeah. “Most beekeepers are older, so we want kids to be involved and there’s scholarships available now for young beekeepers that will help you get completely established. We need more young beekeepers.”

Honey bees, both wild and domestic, play a role in the world’s food supply. According to greenpeace.org, bees pollinate about 70 out of the top 100 human food crops which supply about 90 percent of the world’s nutrition.

“It really is essential to all of our food,” Miller said. “Having community beekeepers allows organizations to gather and report data. We have a pollen collector that’s working with a couple of members in the group that are looking at the best plants to plant for this region. In this farming community, pollinators are essential.”

Miller encourages anyone interested in learning more about the club to explore the club’s website at bcbeekeepers.org.

“Everybody needs community and we are a community that is Incredibly inclusive,” she said. “We’re all about creating a better environment for ourselves and for the world.”