NEW WILMINGTON, Ohio (WKBN) – Students at Westminster College have launched a new business on campus. They are selling products produced by the school’s bee apiary.
The store is something students have been working on for a long time. It was possible thanks to an idea that started all the way back in 2019, when the bee apiary was built.
These are faculty and students working with 30 hives with almost 2 million bees.
Students from a variety of backgrounds and majors all have participated to make the Westminster Bee Company a reality.
The original course that brought in the bees was part of what the college calls a “cluster course.” It is two classes that coincide with one another during one semester.
“I don’t think that at a standard university that I would be doing some of the science-end stuff, especially, like, relating to bees,” said Wesley Yeager, a first-year student.
The store was then led by students in the Environmental Entrepreneurship class.
Senior Morgan Straw is an environmental science and Spanish double major. She said the course really pushes for what Westminster College strives for — a well-rounded education.
“It’s given me the opportunity to be artistic, and with the design ideas and learn about business, which I never thought I would have done before. So, we’re all getting a lot of really cool experiences from this,” Straw said.
The Westminster Bee Company did a test pop up store a couple weeks ago on Homecoming weekend, but Saturday is when the store will officially launch at the campus book store.
They are selling raw honey in three different sizes.
All the proceeds go directly to environmental education and to continue taking care of the bees
Straw says they hope to continue to grow the business and create more honey-based products in the future.
The store will be open today from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m.
