Organic Beekeeper Shares Behind the Scenes Photos & Video of Bees Making Honey

Lifestyle

Honey Bee Local Honey

Earlier this year I wrote about my family's fascination during our visit to a honey bee farm in New Zealand. Now here's an even more interesting post stateside about a mom of six who is also a professional beekeeper right here in the USA that I think you'll appreciate, especially if you are a parent.

Mom & Beekeeper, by Rachel Rovner Photography

"Any other moms or dads out there driving twin five-year-olds and 20,000 honeybees around town in their minivan?" That’s actually word-for-word what Ohio organic beekeeper Amalia Haas, the sole proprietor of HoneyBeeLocal posted as a Facebook status update recently.  The mother of a half dozen children from 5 years old through 18, this singer-storyteller-educator and serial environmental entrepreneur assures me that there is no reason to be alarmed: the ride home was very peaceful and the twins even fell asleep.

A look at her homegrown small business website shows why Amalia’s innovative, STEM- and narrative-based programs have her teaching schedule buzzing as much as her beeyards.  Not long ago I caught her in the act running gracefully from leading a Hands-on-Honey workshop (with 5th graders) to a presentation for adults on What’s Killing the Pollinators and How to Save them From Your Backyard.  But this fascinating and friendly mom turned professional beekeeper grows reflective when asked to describe how she got involved in the world of bees. 

"I was designing children’s gardens and programs," says Amalia, “getting kids singing, mimicking plants’ stages of growth, and working the soil.

Image by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

"When I became passionate about health and sustainability -- really wanting to see the best for the next generation -- I couldn’t help but notice the forgotten pollinators," she recalls. “Hardly a plant on earth would bear fruit were it not visited by a bee.  That’s when I felt the calling to begin keeping bees. But the devotion of the honeybees to their calling, the complexity of the workings of the hive, have inspired in me a humility and radical amazement I could never have anticipated.

"I have six children of my own," Amalia tells me, "but no matter what I am up to, my bees are always working harder. They don’t stop! And their work makes the world better for every living thing.  As I work toward my Master Organic Beekeeper certification, I love performing for groups -- both children and adults -- and inspiring an awareness of how the beehive, like human societies, is a socially complex and sophisticated community with fascinating parallels to our own.  It deserves to be protected and cherished, and in providing for the welfare of the bees, we are really ensuring the health of the world for us, our children and future generations.

Amalia Haas, by Rachel Rovner Photography

"In my chemical-free approach to beekeeping,” Amalia points out, “I am extremely careful to only harvest honey that is a surplus well beyond what the bees need for themselves. Furthermore, I never, ever utilize artificial food in a hive.  Real, whole food is what is best for us, and the bees flourish when they eat what is whole food for them: pollen and floral nectar.” 

Don’t miss this Midwestern bee lady's short video rescuing an endangered colony of bees -- it will literally blow you away with wonderment! For sure this live action mini film of nature at work is something you and your kids will be fascinated to watch together. I am so inspired by Amalia’s story and her love of the natural world, and I hope by reading this post you are too. Truly, there is so much we each can easily do to help the bees flourish: with simple practices such as replacing flowerless turf areas with native and perennial flowers, advocating for the planting of pollinator corridors and organic land management in our cities and suburbs.

Honey Bee Local Honey Hostess Set, Photo by Maria Alvarez 

For my own family I’ve already ordered the Honey Bee Local's three-jar hostess set you see pictured above (reasonably priced at $30 plus shipping) consisting of a trio of 8oz corked handpacked glass jars of light, medium and dark honeys and I can’t wait till it arrives. A variety of sizes, different types of honeys and packages are available ranging in price from $2.50 to $38 plus shipping. So, you might want to consider ordering some of these fabulous natural honeys, too.

About Honey Bee Local & Honey Bee Jewish 
Amalia is currently offering nationwide shipping of beautifully packaged jars of three types of varietal raw honey for Fall as well as for Rosh HaShanah, the upcoming Jewish New Year. Learn more about her educational and entertainment programs here including educational programs for teens and adults and programming for school and community organizations.

For those celebrating the holiday starting at sundown Sunday, September 13th, let’s hope that by pairing Amalia’s approach to beekeeping with all of us doing our share, her honey will truly be the start of a New Year that is both Sweet and Good.

Honey Bee Local

How to Order 

Natural Raw Honey 

To order your own organic honey from Amalia’s end-of-summer harvest, which is perfect straight out of the jar as a sweetener in drinks and food or in your homemade cooking and baking recipes, click here. But order soon because, as in past years, Honey Bee Local & Honey Bee Jewish honeys are expected to sell out. Note: For guaranteed Rosh Hashanah delivery online orders must be placed no later than Monday, September 7th (Labor Day).

Have questions or would like more information? Reach out to Amalia Haas of Honey Bee Local and Honey Bee Jewish on the company's official site or by calling (330) 552-8BEE.

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