Thanks to the Biology Club, the Environmental Network, and alum Suzanne Matlock, Arcadia University now has two working bee hives, and students are anticipating the production of honey.

“We have 30,000 new guests at Arcadia. It’s a honey of a deal!” notes Tom Macchi, Associate Vice President of Facilities and Capital Planning, who provided the special suits worn during the transfer and photographed the event.

“Before the hives came, the area was overgrown with weeds and debris, so several new students were kind enough to work together in clearing it out as part of the community service day during New Student Orientation,” says Kyrillos Awad, President of the Biology Club. Thanks go to Facilities and Grounds for helping to get the space ready and facilitate the transfer of the bees last week.

The impetus for the bee keeping project began with Rachel Palis ’10, past president of the Biology Club, with support from Matlock, who is a mentor to the students working on the project.

“We can use the hives for many things,” notes Awad. “In an educational setting, any class dealing with environmentalism could incorporate them into the curriculum, for example. To combat colony collapse disorder, we rely on bees to pollinate many food crops. We also want to develop our own Arcadia University honey.”