FREMONT, Mich. — Fremont was buzzing with hundreds of beekeepers for its annual Honeybee Pickup. Although some may see them as a nuisance, organizers say bees play a big role in our everyday lives.
“There's this amazing system, the bees are so smart, they are very disciplined,” said Owner Genji LeClair.
Those bees were busy at Kropscott Farm Saturday for day two of Bee Day. Beekeepers from across the Great Lakes swarmed the big event.
It's the first nectar flow of the year, meaning most of the honey will be produced during this time.
“Most beekeepers are in it to try to get the honey that's locally from their yard from their community and, and share that as much as they can,” said Brian Zwart, volunteer with the Great Lakes Bee Company.
“We sold about 1,100 colonies this year, so that equates to about 700 beekeepers between last weekend and this weekend,” said LeClair.
She says the event is also a call to action after a recent drop in pollinators.
“We have to pollinate to get seeds, we have to pollinate to get food, we have to pollinate certain crops that other animals eat,” explained LeClair.
The annual event is a sign that flowers and crops will soon be ready for pollination, which bees do naturally, during the spring and summer months.
“Any product that you get at the grocery store, without the honeybee those things would not be there, so to be able to take part in that and have your own hive and be able to contribute to that system is pretty cool,” said Zwart.
Local bees create over 150,000 pounds of honey each year under the Hasselman’s Honey label.
For more information on how you can get involved with beekeeping, click here.
