Dr. Heywood’s First Honey Haul

At WYVA, we believe in bringing learning to life, even beyond the virtual classroom. That’s why Dr. Joe Heywood, our Executive Director, regularly takes students on engaging “virtual field trips” – exploring fascinating places and activities, all from their screens! 

Today, Dr. Heywood finally got to harvest his first batch of honey! This is actually his second season of keeping bees, but last year didn’t go quite as planned, so he was extra excited for this harvest. 

He started by setting up the hive stand that he built himself, getting everything sturdy and ready to go. With a bit of a wobble (thanks to a rock), Dr. Heywood admitted he might need to make some adjustments, but hey, it’s a learning process! 

The bees were buzzing, and he had some help from his special assistant, Mr. Robinson, and Matthew, who helped capture the experience. None of them had done this before, so it was a bit of an experiment, but they dove right in with their tools, smoker, and lots of enthusiasm. 

Once the hive was opened, they found some honey, though not quite as much as Dr. Heywood had hoped. The bees had been hard at work all summer, but the frames weren’t as full as expected. Still, there was plenty to work with, and Dr. Heywood carefully lifted out the honey-filled frames and gently shook the bees off each frame. 

Inside, it was time to uncap the honeycomb with a fork, being careful not to damage the wax too much. Dr. Heywood showed off how to carefully break the tops of the cells so the honey could start flowing. The team then used a hand-cranked extractor to spin the honey out of the frames—though the process was a little messier than they expected, with honey flying everywhere! 

By the end, they had filled up 50 jars of honey, with plans to give some away as gifts to family and neighbors. The honey ranged from light to dark, depending on the pollen the bees had used, and Dr. Heywood was super proud of the final product. 

Want to watch the full virtual field trip? You can BEE sure to watch here.