Bee Club
Learn the ins and outs of beekeeping and through bee-centric activities and discussions in Bee Club. You’ll be able to practice beekeeping and have opportunities to promote the unique importance of native pollinators. You’ll be able to work with the bees in our campus honey bee apiary as a club member. Beekeeping is growing in popularity as a form of urban agriculture, contributing to healthy gardens and healthy lives.
The Old Fort at Hesperus is a beautiful 6,000+ acre site managed by Fort Lewis College that is located just 16 miles from campus. The Old Fort at Hesperus offers several programs to learn more about sustainable agriculture.
There are year-round internships in sustainable agriculture that fulfill requirements in Environmental & Sustainability, Public Health, Sociology, Biology, and other fields. The Incubator Program is for aspiring farmers and provides educational classes along with access to land, water, and infrastructure. Incubator participants run independent businesses and cooperate with each other to produce a variety of foods at 7,600 feet. Finally, the Farmer-In-Training Program is a stepping stone between the internship and incubator, for people who want to farm but who need more experience.
Staff, incubator farmers, interns and Farmers-In-Training grow everything on site, providing Campus Dining with thousands of pounds of vegetables and humanely raised meat every year. Food is available for purchase on campus from the Farm Stand and CSA program, and in Hesperus at the Old Fort Country Store. 2-3 acres are in vegetable production and there are two 90’ hoop houses used to grow greens right through the winter. A historic orchard, dating back to the 1900s, provides local apples. We also raise grass fed cattle at the Old Fort without antibiotics or growth promoters.
You can learn about local food systems on campus in the Environmental Center Garden and Food Forest. These growing spaces give you the chance to apply regenerative gardening practices and gain hands-on experience growing food utilized by many FLC programs. Get involved with the growing spaces by contacting the Environmental Center. You can also complete coursework in the garden through the Regenerative Food Systems Certificate.
The Grub Hub Food Pantry is a student-led, food justice organization committed to serving students and community members by breaking down the stigma behind food insecurity. The Grub Hub shares good food through free meals and a free food pantry filled with produce from local farmers and donations from local businesses and non-profits.