Dave Wagenblast has worn many hats during his 32-year tenure as Crew Lead within Facilities Operations Campus Grounds. Not only does his team serve as the stewards for Prospect Garden, one of the vibrant epicenters of blooms (and butterflies!) on campus, he’s also a key source of knowledge on the art of beekeeping. “For the past 15 years, I’ve been an advisor to the Bee Team, the undergraduate student beekeeping club,” Wagenblast said.  

Wagenblast, who has bee hives of his own at home, started consulting with the club in 2009, and has helped students extract and jar campus honey annually ever since. “Every September or October, we have a honey party,” he shared. The party serves as the Bee Team’s flagship event every year.   

A hive, Wagenblast explains, is a bee family with a queen. The campus hives primarily reside in the student-run organic garden linked to Forbes College, but Wagenblast also cares for groups of bees at the Greenhouse. 

Wagenblast’s care of the campus bees is essential not only to their health, but to the welfare of our campus ecosystems as a whole. “We need our bugs,” he said. “They are the first in line in our food chain. If they are affected, it will disrupt all other species in that foodweb.”  

Wagenblast’s dedication to his work and commitment to stewarding the campus is apparent also in the beauty of Prospect Garden, which he plans meticulously every year. “There’s a small window of time, between the last frost of the winter and Reunions, to plant the new year’s flowers that stay until the fall. Fall is when over 10,000 bulbs need to be planted,” he said. 

The next time you take a stroll through Prospect Garden – or any of the beautiful spots on campus – feel free to reach out to Dave and his team with any questions about the landscape.