After Tropical Storm Debby passed, the Cottages at Bethany enjoyed a sunny day with a fun honey-making activity led by Dr. Paul Cerpovicz, providing residents and guests with a sweet and educational experience.
On Friday, August 9, 2024, Haley McNure had a sweet surprise 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 come together, share stories of resilience and gratitude, and enjoy some well-deserved sunshine. McNure and her residents couldn’t wait to get on with it on a finally clear day in Statesboro.
After enjoying the calm after the storm, family, guests and visitors gathered to enjoy a sweet demonstration of honey production, processing and distribution of this popular nectar. They were joined by Paul CerpoviczProfessor of chemistry at East Georgia State College in Swainsboro, who led the activity.
Despite the beautiful weather outside, this activity took place indoors – for good reason!
“Honey extraction is best done indoors, otherwise you may attract many bees from the surrounding area that are interested in the honey,” explains Dr. Cerpovicz.
Cerpovicz was equipped to demonstrate about honey bees and had an eager audience, so he was into it! He brought a honey extractor and frames of honey from their hives. The audience helped open the honey, spin it out of the frames with the extractor, and filter the honey so everyone could take a sample. Yummy!
“Truth bee told us we had a incredible Time to learn how to extract honey with Dr. Cerpovicz” said McNure. “Everyone had fun learning about the process of honey production and seeing how it is extracted from the hive and sifted into the pure honey 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.
“I started keeping bees with my wife, Joellein 2012 after she ‘talked me into it,'” he said. “After reading a lot, joining local beekeeping clubs, talking to other beekeepers, and purchasing equipment, we set up our first hives in our backyard as hobbyist beekeepers. We have four to six hives and collect about 100 to 200 pounds of honey each year.”
Despite this huge honey harvest, it is not a business for them, says Cerpovicz: “We keep bees just for fun and use the honey mainly for private purposes and give it away.”
Cerpovicz has started a student-run beekeeping club on the EGSC campus, and the school is officially a “bee campus” with an apiary – a home for bees. Every September, the campus hosts a “honey extraction day” when people from the community are invited to help extract honey and collect samples. (Stay tuned for this year’s date.)
“The main goal of the campus beekeeping is to help people learn more about the importance of honey bees, native bees, butterflies and other pollinators to our environment and way of life,” he said.
Honey is not only delicious, but also a labor of love. Want to know more facts and information about bees?
- Honey begins as flower nectar. A scout bee looks for the nectar jackpot: 50-100 flowers. Delicious flowers!
- Honey bees visit 2 million flowers to produce 1 pound of honey.
- Honey is the only food obtained from insects that is consumed by humans.
Participants also received a small recipe book full of creative ways to use honey. Try this simple recipe 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
- Place orange juice, honey, lemon and lime juice in a blender until honey is dissolved.
- Add blueberries and ice and puree.
- Serve in glasses and garnish with a lemon or lime slice. Makes six 170 ml portions.
“Honeybees are absolutely amazing creatures. You could spend a lifetime learning about these wonderful insects,” Cerpovicz concluded. And it seems like these seniors enjoyed just that.
BEE SWEET, friends!
