Producers
University of Michigan Campus Apiary
university student beekeeping organization · educational apiary
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor campus
University of Michigan Campus Apiary is publicly documented as UMBees, a University of Michigan student beekeeping organization. It maintains honey-bee colonies at Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, with a focus on honey-bee stewardship, learning, and pollinator engagement rather than commercial honey production.
About the Producer
A little history
UMBees was founded in 2012, according to an October 2019 feature from the University of Michigan Alumni Association.
How They Work
Beekeeping in practice
A student-run university organization focused on beekeeping education and honey-bee stewardship. Public evidence does not establish a commercial retail-honey operation.
Where They Work
Location and reach
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor campus
Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
A University of Michigan Alumni Association feature reports that UMBees tended two hive stacks located within Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Matthaei Botanical Gardens publicly identifies its Ann Arbor location as 1800 N. Dixboro Road.
University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
U-M’s pollinator-conservation page lists UMBees in its Ann Arbor campus and greater Ann Arbor area resources.
People
People connected to the work
- Andrew Mills Faculty adviser for UMBees
- Gucci Fan Historical student leader (“minister of the apiary”)
Practices
How they work
- UMBees’ stated organizational purpose is to promote, protect, and propagate honeybees, with participation open to both experienced beekeepers and beginners.
- A 2019 observation documents fall supplemental feeding of a UMBees colony using sugar water and vitamins to support overwintering; this should be treated as a dated, observed practice rather than a standing current protocol.
Curator Note
Research apiary.