Out of all of the species of bees, one in particular is viewed in a positive light. This special, important, and historic bee
is the honey bee. Throughout human history, we have found many uses for honey bees, especially in their ability to produce honey, a beneficial product that can be used in a multitude of ways.
Bethany Winter, the Upper School Librarian, began her beekeeping journey in 2020 and shares about how the experience has impacted her perspective of the world.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of people were confined to their homes. Winter decided to pursue a new hobby: “I really like being outside, so I was thinking about what hobbies would get me outside more.” This is where it all began: she explains that she wanted “to find something that kind of scared me, so I took some beekeeping classes.”
Winter continues, describing that one can really fall in love with beekeeping by “learning about the colonies and how they work.”
She adds, “It’s really cool to see how insects are building their own world together.” At the start of her beeping experience, Winter found a professional beekeeper in Delano who taught her the basics of domesticating bees. In the spring, Winter began her starter beehive with thousands of bees on her three-acre property. This space was perfect because it was filled with woods, a pond, natural greenery, and a nearby local nature reserve. Winter enjoys observing bee life because “[it’s] a whole other world from the one we live in, and the world of the honey bees is so unproblematic compared to our society.”
As her love of beekeeping began to grow, Winter harvested some of the honey produced by the honey bees. She highlights that she sold the honey “at art fairs and at a yoga studio in Mendota Heights.” Winter recognizes that collecting honey may seem frightening at times, but she warns that panicking around the honey bees is the wrong way to approach them. The correct strategy to collect honey is to remain calm. Winter explains, “I’ve learned that the bees can sense if you’re calm or if you’re anxious, and that can impact the inspection [or collection].” This relaxed and focused mentality also keeps one calm and does not get startled by the honey bees.
No matter how loud the honey bees may buzz when opening the hives, ensure you are tranquil while interacting with the insects. Winter shares that she “think[s] it’s so cool to get an introspective look into [the honeybee’s] world.” Winter highlights the various jobs of the honey bees that she has observed, noting that “all of the bees have different tasks; some bees are the ones that take care of the younger bees, others will go out and explore…they all have individual jobs.” As she continues to reflect upon her beloved hobby, Winter adds, “Beekeeping is such a peaceful hobby.”
According to Winter, beekeeping is easy with time and effort. Not only does one have the opportunity to grow a colony from scratch if they begin beekeeping, but the colonies will also produce honey over time, which has a wide variety of uses. Winter emphasizes that one of the most powerful moments in beekeeping is the ability to see the world from the bees’ point of view. Winter describes, when opening up the hives, “You are entering into their whole set-up, and you are an alien to the bees.”
Years ago, the school had a Beekeeping club that is no longer active. With this being her first year at the school, Winter hasn’t given much though to restarting the club yet. However, she mentioned that most activities occur in the summer, meaning it would be hard for students to beekeep during school months because the weather is typically too cold.
