'Bees are calming': Former RCMP chief trades red serge for bee suit

As a top cop, Barry Clark commanded2,000Mounties and staff.

Now, he's in charge of onemillion bees on his farm.

"I've got manymore depending on me now," joked Barry Clark, who served in the RCMP for 38 years before becoming a beekeeper near Prince George, B.C.

Before he retired, Clark commanded an Emergency Response Team and was chief RCMP superintendent for B.C.'s North District.

Now, he's busy tending his bees, teachingbeginning beekeepers, and inspectinghives for the Ministry of Agriculture.

"Bees are calming," said Clark, as he checkedhis hives wearing a protective hood andwhite bee suit.

"I absolutely loved my RCMPjob," said Clark. "But ...if there weremajor things going on, I was front and centre. With first responders, you end up having some haunting memories, I suppose. "

Several months after he retired, Clark heard on the news that a major police incident was underway in northern B.C. Without thinking, he picked up the telephone and calledthe RCMP's emergency operations centre for an update.

"I hadto find out about this thing that happened," said Clark, who recalled that heonly hung up the phone when his wife reminded him he'd retired.

The zen of beekeeping

Beekeeping has helped him transition from a life of high stress, said Clark.

"They call it the zen of beekeeping. It's very therapeutic," he said. But his hives come with their own dangers.

For example, Clark is allergic to bee stings.He requires a bee venom shot once a month to desensitize him to the stings, and still carriestwoEpiPensinside his bee suit.

"I do get stung a lot. Last week I'll bet I was stung 15 or 20 times," he said.

There are also bears, hungry for honey. Clarktries to keep them away from the hiveswith an electric fence.

Boy scout bee badge

Clark's interest in bees started long ago, when he shadoweda local beekeeper to earn a boy scout badge.

Now, Clark is playing it forward.

He's taughtbeekeeping skills toaddicts in a Prince George treatment program. He teaches regular beekeeping classes for beginners.And as a Ministry of Agriculture apiary inspector, he checks hives toensurethe health and safety of bees in the region.

Clark is passionate aboutbringing bees back, and ensuring hives thrive.

"Lots of folks tell me ... that a long time ago there were bees everywhere. Now they hardly ever see any," he said.

"When I was a policeman, I felt like I was serving the community and giving back. Now it's a switch. Now it's giving back to nature," said Clark.