Lessons from the Hive: Creative Writing and the Practice of Beekeeping is an interdisciplinary course that marries creative writing with beekeeping, said professor of English James Barilla.
Barilla co-teaches the course with SC Mid-State Beekeepers Association member David MacFawn.
“I come at it with a kind of nature writing and creative writing background, and then David MacFawn ... brings beekeeping expertise to it,” Barilla said. “The idea is that we learn more about the practice of beekeeping, the issues that beekeepers and bees are facing, and in doing so, providing some degree of service to our local environment and community."
SC Mid-State Beekeepers Association is a nonprofit service organization that meets monthly to inform new and experienced beekeepers on what to expect from their beehives. Through the association, beekeepers in the Midlands can connect with each other at monthly meetings that inform members about the buzzing topics of the beekeeping world.
“I’m always learning something new from the other beekeepers to improve my beekeeping knowledge and skills,” MacFawn said. “Mid-State is all about learning about bees and how to keep them successfully.”
The spring 2026 semester is the second time the USC Honors College is offering Lessons from the Hive.
Barilla said MacFawn establishes the materials, locations and practical activities involved with the beekeeping part of the course, while Barilla provides the reading and writing exercises that encourage students to think about the relationship humans have with other species, particularly insects.
“There is a long history of people writing about bees," Barilla said. "Whether it's Sylvia Plath and her poems about beekeeping, or recently you can even see it on TV with an episode of 'Black Mirror' where they’re thinking about what would happen if bees disappear.”
Barilla’s hope for students who take the course is that they gain an understanding of how a different, non-human species can be understood and related to the natural world.
The beyond-the-classroom experiences offered in the course encouraged third-year civil engineering and art studio student Jordan Henderson to enroll in the class.
“When I saw that there were actual hands-on beekeeping activities, I thought that sounded very interesting," Henderson said. “I thought it was a good opportunity to have some new experiences and get out and get hands-on.”
Barilla said his favorite memory of teaching Lessons from the Hive was the first time the class visited beehives in person.
The class visits a real beekeeping site three times throughout the semester to see the differences in the bee colonies over the span of four months. The students accompany the beekeepers as they interact with the hives.
“We can talk theoretically about the natural history of bees, and we can read about it, but I think it makes much more of an impact when you are literally holding a frame full of bee larva and overwintering bees are crawling on your arm,” Barilla said.
SC Mid-State Beekeepers Association outreach chair Pamela Robinson said it is important to spread the word about the association to keep Columbia residents aware of the environmental state of our community.
“Talking about ecology and nature, we live in a city, and green space is becoming less and less,” Robinson said. “We need more and more to think about what we’re doing to our planet, and if we can do a little something to help, that’s a good thing.”
The United States Department of Agriculture said over 130 types of fruits, nuts and vegetables are pollinated by honeybees each year.MacFawn said without honeybees, many crops including watermelons, cucumbers and cantaloupe would cease to exist.
Robinson said witnessing nature in our community is the reward for being a good beekeeper.
"We want our city to be beautiful. We want our city to have access to healthy food, and all of that is honeybee-related," Robinson said. "Plants that are attractive to them, they make life a little easier, and that all adds to our well-being."
The SC Mid-State Beekeepers Association meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. Its meetings are held at 3215 Platt Springs Road in West Columbia.
“We’d be delighted to have any of the Carolina students attend,” MacFawn said. “I think the students would enjoy coming out and listening to the talks and discussions in the fellowship of the beekeepers.”
For more information about the SC Mid-State Beekeepers Association, visit its website at https://www.scmidstatebeekeepers.org.