Madison Kollar / The Mossy Log
With the warming spring weather, Students Engaged in Eco-Defense (SEED) recently announced that they would begin hosting their seasonal beehive tours until the end of the semester. Open to all, the hive tours allow students who are not directly involved with SEED to learn about the colonies and to meet the beloved, friendly and hardworking bees.
Held in the mornings and lasting an hour or two, students meet at the Bee Garden on the Graduate Campus to learn more about the colorful hives and the honey bees who reside in them. Participants suit up in full beekeeping gear: a veil, a bee suit or jacket and gloves. The tour leader then lights a smoker, which masks any pheromones that may alert the bees and calms bees. After this, students get to observe and, if they are interested, assist with the beehive tour. Gwyn Murphy ’26, a student beekeeper with SEED, explained the purpose of these tours.
“A beehive tour is a wellness check of how our beehives are doing. When we are housing them, there are lots of things that we are responsible for … (such as) seeing if we need to do anything differently, like feed them or move around boxes and parts of the colony to maximize their health and success,” Murphy said.
Beekeepers are responsible for attending to a log that records information about the hive’s activity, the colonies’ condition and any irregularities present. As they check and take note of these things, beekeepers educate participants on what they are seeing and allow them to hold hive frames — wooden slots that keep the comb in place. If you are lucky, you might even spot the larger queen bee among the many worker bees!
Weather permitting, SEED hosts several tours throughout the spring on weekends. Tours are given when the temperature is at or over 60 degrees, and the sun is out. With Portland being one of the cloudiest cities in the country, it can be difficult to find the perfect conditions. Still, Sylvia Barclay ’25, SEED president and beekeeper, explains that these conditions are essential for a seamless tour.
“When it is cloudy, they are more agitated and more aggressive. So we try to stay away from cloudy days,” Barclay said.
Students who may not be comfortable with bees should not fret. As Emma Johnson ’26, SEED’s head beekeeper, describes, students have the opportunity to learn about LC’s bees without directly interacting with them.
“We have been trying to do other events, like more workshops to learn about bees, and holding informational sessions over the winter to supplement (during the colder season) … and next year, who knows? I feel like we will see what is on the table,” Johnson said.
SEED also organizes events outside of beekeeping, such as this year’s Earth Week from April 21 to 25. Students still have the opportunity to attend a few of the week’s events. This Friday, April 25, from 4 to 5:50 p.m. at the Bee Garden and 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Forest Garden, students can help revitalize the area by removing weeds and planting native species. On Saturday, SEED will be hosting a garden party at 7 p.m. at the Bee Garden with s’mores and music. Lastly, on Sunday, there will be a clothing swap from 12 to 3 p.m. Students can sign up for a tour before the semester ends by filling out a spreadsheet located on the SEED website at linktr.ee/lcseed, or by scanning QR codes posted around campus.
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