(From Owens Community College)
Often misunderstood and wrongly feared, honeybees are vital to sustaining agricultural production, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture saying about 35% of the world’s food crops depending on animal pollinators to produce.
Unfortunately, honeybee populations have steadily declined, with 2025 feared as an especially harsh year – as much as 70% colony losses are projected this year, according to various studies.
Part of the solution is happening at Owens Community College, which houses apiaries at both the Toledo-area and Findlay-area Campuses. It’s a small but significant step needed to help a large part of our food production cycle.
The apiary on the Toledo-area Campus started in Spring 2019, with the Findlay apiary predating that. Krista Kiessling, director of the Campus and Community Connections who runs the hives, was a bee keeper at home. She knew the honey produced by the bees would be a good way to raise funds to support the Garden Harvest food pantry and community garden efforts.
Kiessling does not harvest all the honey available in the hives. She sells the small amount they take for $10 per pint, with the funds directed into the foundation account that supports the food pantry, community garden, free store, career closet and apiary.
“Most people are fearful of honeybees because they don’t understand them. We want to help as many people as possible to understand the nature of honeybees and their importance to our food systems locally and beyond,” Kiessling said. “Not only can students learn about bee behavior, but they learn about the impact of poor land management, chemical pesticides and irresponsible agricultural processes. They begin to ask questions and those questions lead to action.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the apiaries or volunteering their time can contact Kiessling. She makes weekly trips to check on the hives, but that schedule is dependent upon various environmental and weather-related factors.
“Ideally, we would like to see more students and faculty involved in the apiary to educate on the importance of pollinators, especially those that are endangered,” Kiessling said. “The Findlay area campus has a significant apiary as well. They started before we did.”
Selling the honey is a small part of the bee keeping process. Most of the time is spent inspecting the hives for health, ensuring the bees are reproducing and continuing on to a new generation.
It’s a unique educational opportunity not found at many other community colleges.
“As with many things we do, it’s an unexpected project at a community college campus,” Kiessling said. “I enjoy taking innovative approaches to education and hands-on learning is the best tool there is. I have yet to introduce someone to the hives without them becoming fascinated with bee behavior and impact. It’s a wonderful way to connect with the food we eat.”
