Photo courtesy of Charles Koenen
Charles Koenen
Charles Koenen
Bees are a vital part of the natural ecosystem. They are not just there to make honey and sting people—bees play a huge ecological role as pollinators. In fact, more than 500 native species of bee inhabit southeastern Wisconsin.
Charlie Koenen, known affectionately as the “Beevangelist,” has been spreading the buzz of bees around Milwaukee for over two decades. He is president of the Milwaukee Waukesha Beekeepers Association, having previously been Wisconsin’s state bee inspector during Covid. Koenen shares his love and passion for bees by way of classes and workshops, educating communities about the importance of bees and their impact on society, from our food, our gardens, our medicines and much more.
“Every third bite of food you eat comes from bees,” Koenen contends. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have fruits, nuts, coffee or vegetables. Nature has many different kinds of pollinators, but mankind has made honey bees essential workers on Earth, and they fill their niche by pollinating our crops and orchards.”
Abundance Happens
Blooming flowers act as advertisements to bees and other pollinators. “That’s how abundance happens,” he says. “Bees have a diverse diet of proteins and carbohydrates, just like we do.”
Unfortunately, large-scale monoculture clears out native plants in order to grow just one type of crop, which rapidly depletes bees’ food sources and makes it difficult for them to survive. Climate change is a major factor on bees as well. “There are so many problems,” Koenen confirms. “Bees are creatures of pattern, and our urban expansion is changing the way the landscape is.”
A Milwaukee native, Koenen previously worked as an Apple computer specialist. Around 2000, Koenen remembers coming across urban agriculture organization Growing Power and meeting its CEO, Will Allen. “Like many people, I fell in love with Will and the place.”
Inside the Hive
Photo courtesy of Charles Koenen
Bee Swarm and Charles Koenen
Charles Koenen working with honey bees
Growing Power had beehives on-site, stewarded by beekeeper Michael Thompson. Once Koenen was shown the ropes of beekeeping, he instantly became hooked. “I fell in love with all the crazy, cool stuff that goes on inside the hive,” he explains. Koenen subsequently left the computer business and became the organization’s beekeeper.
Redeemer Lutheran Church lent Koenen an office space, which enabled him to start teaching Marquette students and parishioners about bees. Utilizing a beehive on the church’s roof, he taught homeless folks how to be beekeepers. He then had the opportunity to travel to and tour in Slovenia, a European bee haven. Koenen and Redeemer Church eventually held the first World Bee Day celebration in the U.S., observed May 20 every year since 2018.
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“Some of the Marquette students I’ve taught have gone on to do “beevangelizing” in other parts of the country,” Koenen notes.
Native Pollinators
He continues to do lectures and workshops around Milwaukee and beyond, whether for schools, houses of worship, garden clubs, farmers markets or retirement homes. He has placed many different hives around Milwaukee, including at Urban Ecology Center, Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, Saint John’s on the Lake and Forest Home Cemetery.
Additionally, Koenen offers swarm capture services and is happy to help new beekeepers with obtaining proper equipment and supplies. He also makes and sells honey and balms, often for sale at lectures and workshops.
While Koenen has been involved in substantial education around honeybees, he is actively shifting his educational focus toward native pollinators. “If you want to save the bees, have plants at home that you know are native to your neighborhood,” he recommends.
Koenen looks forward to moving his office space into the new House of RAD, 324 N. 12th St. To get in touch, visit his website at https://beevangelists.org/.
