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Effingham County Swarming With Beekeepers
It is a hobby with sweet rewards and the occasional sting. At a time when bees are dying off, beekeeping is swarming Effingham County.
The Crossroads Beekeepers started with about eight people. Three years later they have more than a hundred members.
Some craft wooden beehive homes so bees can make it through the winter, some bottle and sell honey, others just really like bees. And who can blame them?
Experts say they can help us build our immune systems, grow more food and add the beauty of flowers to the world.
“Albert Einstein even said that you take away the bees and the world would completely stop," Crossroads Beekeepers member Terry Hopper said.
Based on that philosophy, the members of Crossroads Beekeepers keep the world spinning.
“We have about 115 people that are here learning all about beekeeping," Crossroads Beekeepers President Larry Quicksall said.
And the "new-bees" are a-buzz.about experts like Ryan Spencer. Spencer said he got involved with beekeeping because he likes honey. Now, he has plenty of it. He showed us how to get that sweet, gooey, treat.
“You have to take it out of the hives, in the frames," he said. "You gotta cut those cappings off. I use a hot knife. And then we put it in this extractor and we spin it. And then it drips down and then we filter it and bottle it."
Turning honey into money. Jason Weaver is in the “bee-biz” too. He makes beehive homes for beekeepers in the area.
“Out of wood," Weaver said. "Just another phase of woodworking."
It's another way of creating buzz.
“They're really not something to be afraid of, but they're our friends and they're here to help us in pollinating flowers and making a lot of great things here for us," Hopper said.
So busy as, well, bees, they keep working to make a way for these fascinating insects who are in danger.
“They've heard about the plight of bees, they've heard that a lot of bees have been dying off and they want to do their part to help," Quicksall said.
For more information on the Crossroads Beekeepers: http://crossroadsbeekeepers.blogspot.com/
