Just as a bee colony relies on teamwork to make things happen, so too does Empire Beez.
The youth-led small business reached their goal of installing their first beehive at a community garden in Trent Hills last week. The hive will not only help the gardens and pollinators thrive, but provide public learning opportunities.
The efficiency in which honeybees work together is one of the reasons 13-year-old Sebastian Smith, the founder of Empire Beez, has long held an interest in the insect. His passion proved contagious, and he convinced friends Owen Musson and Penelope McEvoy, also both 13, and his 10-year-old sister Eloise to fall in love with bees alongside him.
“I really liked them because they aren’t solitary insects — they don’t live by themselves,” Sebastian says. “They work together in one super-organism with all these different bees helping not just for themselves, but for the whole entire colony.”
“They make honey and pollinate one-third of our food. If you’re going to sit down for dinner, one-third of that plate would have been pollinated by bees, and I just find that really amazing.”
“That’s why we can’t lose the bees with colony collapse disorder, because if we do, things are going to be pretty bad,” adds Penelope.
Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is a phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony suddenly leave behind the queen, some food, and brood (baby bees). Experts remain uncertain about the core cause of CCD, though some theories include pesticide poisoning, Varroa mite infestations, and changes in habitat.
When Sebastian heard about CCD, he knew he had to do something to raise awareness and try making a difference.
“I thought we could make a business that could help get people noticing more about the declining population and help people get more interested and pulled in and connect the community together,” he says.
Empire Beez launched last summer with a “My Future My Career” microgrant from the Business & Entrepreneurship Centre Northumberland. With the microgrant, Empire Beez began attending markets and events to speak to people about declining bee populations and raising funds by selling products like necklaces, artwork, crocheted bees, tattoos, and, of course, honey.
The funds earned through the market sales allowed Empire Beez to purchase the equipment needed to build their beehive from Dancing Bee Equipment in Port Hope, where Sebastian and Eloise learned about beekeeping as members of the junior beekeepers program. The team is grateful to have received a discount from Dancing Bee Equipment.
Earlier this month, Empire Beez built and installed their community beehive at the Simpson Street Community Garden in Campbellford. The garden is maintained by IncrEdible Trent Hills, a not-for-profit organization that aims to unite and nourish the communities of Trent Hills and beyond by supporting and strengthening the local food system.
Ashley Townsend, the community gardens coordinator at IncrEdible Trent Hills, says the organization has been looking for opportunities to turn their two community gardens — they also steward the Doxsee Avenue garden in Campbellford — into “more of an ecological park” that supports wildlife and provides learning opportunities.
So when they were approached by Empire Beez, she says it was a “no-brainer” to install the beehive.
“They were just so enthusiastic, and they want to talk to people and tell them about sustainability and what we can do,” Ashley says. “That was another thing that just super aligned with what our organization is about, especially the community garden. If it’s educational, I am so there for it, so it felt like the perfect little partnership.”
For Sebastian, the learning has already started at the garden.
“I’m really liking being with the bees in the hive,” he says. “Even though I’ve only done it twice, I’m jumping up and down to go again and just see how much they’ve thrived and how much they’ve built.”
“I just feel a very special connection with them because we put everything into it. We painted the hive, we assembled the hive, we put the bees into the hive, and I really want them to have a good home.”
Eloise named the queen bee of their hive Nyuki, for a character in The Way of the Hive, a graphic novel that follows the life of a honeybee.
“The character really touched my heart in this book, and we actually learned a lot about the hive,” she says.
On Thursday (July 9) at the Simpson Street Community Garden, Empire Beez will be leading a special presentation during the “Herbs & Honey: A Garden Gathering” event hosted by IncrEdible Trent Hills.
Held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., the garden talk will begin with Meghan Lewis sharing a curated selection of her favourite herbs and tips for growing healthy plants, with a focus on sustainable, bee-friendly gardening.
Then Empire Beez will unveil the new beehive and use an observation hive to show guests what’s going on inside.
“I’m going to be explaining what the bees are really doing in that hive, because a lot of people don’t really know what’s actually going on in there,” Sebastian says, noting he’ll also be breaking down some common myths about bees. “We’re going to educate the people about bees and we’re going to try to do some education events throughout the year.”
To register for the free garden talk, which includes a light dinner and refreshments, visit www.incredibletrenthills.ca/events/festival/gardern-gathering.
As for why they chose to put their beehive in a community garden, the team at Empire Beez says the goal was always to get the wider public involved and eager to learn about bees.
“It’s more visible and accessible for people,” says Owen. “It’s a nice place that people can come to and just learn and have an opportunity to learn more about bees.”
“Also, the site is perfect,” adds Sebastian, noting the creek gives the bees a water source. “We thought if we brought the bees there, the bees could pollinate the garden, and it would help the garden thrive more. It’s helping in two ways: it brings the community together and it makes the garden thrive.”
The group agree that getting to share their knowledge with others while inspiring action from the community is one of the goals at Empire Beez.
“The best part about Empire Beez, in my personal thought, is just seeing all the people who are very engaged and want to learn more,” says Owen. “It makes me happy that people care a lot.”
As they continue to attend events this summer to share their knowledge and raise the funds to support their beehive, the four young entrepreneurs are also interested in installing new hives at other gardens across the Municipality of Trent Hills.
“The more hives we get, the more we help the community, the more the bees will thrive,” says Penelope. “It’s a win-win for everything.”
