On Friday, August 9, 2024, Haley McNure had a sweet treat planned for the residents of the Cottages at Bethany. Despite some uncertainty earlier in the week, Tropical Storm Debby had just passed, and it was time to gather, share stories of resilience and gratitude, and enjoy some well deserved sunshine. McNure and her residents were eager to proceed on a finally clear day in Statesboro.
Taking a moment to appreciate the calm after the storm, family, guests and visitors gathered to enjoy a sweet demonstration about honey extraction, as well as the processing and distribution of this beloved nectar. They were joined by Dr. Paul Cerpovicz, Professor of Chemistry at East Georgia State College in Swainsboro, who led the activity.
Despite the nice weather outside, this activity took place indoors -- for good reason!
“Honey extraction is better as an inside activity; otherwise you could attract a lot of bees from the surrounding area interested in the honey,” shared Dr. Cerpovicz.
Equipped to demonstrate about honeybees coupled with an eager audience, Cerpovicz was on task! He brought along a honey extractor and frames of honey from their hives. The audience participants helped uncap the honey, spin it out of the frames with the extractor, and strain the honey so everyone could get a sample. Beelicious!
“Truth bee told, we had an unbeelievable time learning about how to extract honey with Dr. Cerpovicz," McNure shared. "Everyone enjoyed learning and participating in the process of how honey is made, extracted from the hive, and sifted into the pure honey that we all enjoy. It was hard work, but the samples collected were worth it.”
Dr. Cerpovicz has been working with bees for more than 10 years now.
“I started keeping honeybees with my wife, Joelle, in 2012 after she ‘talked’ me into it,” he said. "After doing a lot of reading, joining local beekeeping clubs, talking to other beekeepers and buying equipment, we set up our first beehives in our backyard as hobbyist beekeepers. We have four to six hives and collect about 100 to 200 pounds of honey each year."
Even with that huge crop of honey, Cerpovicz says it's not a business for them: “We just keep bees for fun and mostly use honey personally and give for gifts.”
Cerpovicz has started a student-led beekeeping club on campus at EGSC, and the school is officially a "Bee Campus" with an apiary -- a home for bees. Each September, the campus hosts a ‘Honey Extraction Day’ where people from the community are invited to help extract honey and take samples. (Stay tuned for this year's date.)
”The major goal of the campus apiary is to help people learn more about the importance of honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and other pollinators to our environment and way of life,” he shared.
Honey is not only delicious but a labor of love. Want some bee facts and trivia?
- Honey starts as flower nectar. A scout bee searches to find the nectar jackpot, 50-100 flowers. Tasty flowers!
- Honey bees visit 2 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey.
- Honey is the only food made by insects that people eat.
The attendees also received a little recipe book full of creative uses for honey. Try this easy one for a sweet treat.
Honey Blueberry Citrus Slush (Smoothie)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup orange blossom honey
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
- 1 cup crushed ice
Directions
- In a blender, combine orange juice, honey, lemon, and lime juices until honey is dissolved.
- Add blueberries and ice. Puree.
- Serve in glasses garnished with a lemon or lime wheel. Makes six 6-oz. servings.
"Honey bees are absolutely amazing creatures. A person could spend a lifetime learning about these wonderful insects,” concluded Cerpovicz. It certainly seems like these seniors enjoyed doing just that.
BEE SWEET, friends!