A taste of honey

By Jacquie Brasher

On September 20, 2016, East Georgia State College was designated as the 14th Bee Campus USA Institution in the nation. In 2012, beekeepers in Asheville, NC founded Bee City USA as a non-profit organization to promote pollinator awareness, and what people can do to protect pollinators and their habitats. As a result of the success of the Bee City program, Bee Campus USA was founded by Southern Oregon University in 2015, to take advantage of the students, faculty, staff, and resources of college campuses to promote pollinator awareness to their local communities.—from the EGSC website.

Emanuel County has an official Bee Campus right here at East Georgia State College. On Thursday, Sept. 22, a honey extraction demonstration was held in the rotunda of the Gambrell Building. Dr. Paul Cerpovicz, professor and beekeeper extraordinaire, showed guests how to extract honey from the bee frames. (The Bobcat Apiary is located outside the Academic Building.) Guests and students were given samples of honeycomb to taste, as well as small jars of fresh honey.