Honey For My Honeys
This video was produced by UH Hilo Students, Kawehi Lopez and Miki'ala Taylor. Filmed in 'ōlelo Hawaiʻi, this was a final project for the students Entomology 350 Advanced Beekeeping course. A link to the film can be found here.
Written by Amber Manini
As most will say, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Fruits, vegetables and food in general is a major component in all of our lives. What would we do if these essential fruits and vegetables like apples, watermelon, beans, and blueberries were reduced by half? Meaning at times we may not find these items at all in the grocery store.
Honey bees are essential pollinators of a quarter of America’s food. However, a recent article by the National Broadcasting Company, commonly known as NBC, shows that the honey bees are dying at a rate that the government has deemed economically unstable. A recent lawsuit has been filed against pesticide use of a specific pesticide called Neonicotinoids. These pesticides researchers say maybe the cause of the decrease in population for bees.
UH Hilo student taking care of one of the bee hives at the farm. Photo was taken and provided by Kawehi Lopez.
What else may help the situation you may ask, the answer is simple, education and awareness. UH Hilo’s Entomology 262, Introduction to Beekeeping, is a course designed to offer UH Hilo students with an introduction to beekeeping information and skills while giving them hands on laboratory experience at the UH Hilo Agriculture farm out in Panaewa. “I was looking to expand my knowledge and learn of ways we can utilize our land in today's civilization other than for Hawaiian uses and practices. Beekeeping is an smart way to utilize our land. Little do we know of how much work honey bees do for agricultural production,” said Dane Dudoit a UH Hilo senior currently enrolled in Entomology 262.
Entomology first offered in the 1970’s by a previous instructor is the only course of its kind offered on a continuous basis in the UH System. “I continued the course and developed an advanced course and more recently a beekeeping certificate,” said Dr. Lorna Tsutsumi the instructor of the course. This hands on course is usually class to 25 introductory students in the fall and 16 advanced students in the spring. It is said that the UH Hilo Agriculture farm is home to fifty bee hives. On average there is an estimated ten thousand bee’s in each hive. That is an estimated five hundred thousand bees local to UH Hilo.
Photo taken and provided by Kawehi Lopez featuring UH Hilo’s bee’s at the Agriculture farm.
Mele Adams a current senior here at UH Hilo helps take care of the bees on the Panaewa farm. She manages the bee hives when the labs aren't in session and helps to manage the honey products as well. “I had friends who took the course and told me about it. I was able to volunteer at the bee farm all summer and ended up getting a job at the bee farm so I decided to take the course. I know for a fact if we don’t do something about it now,it will affect us later. Without bees pollinating our food, we won't survive much longer than them,” said Adams. As a lab assistant, previous volunteer and student, she states having become more aware of the environment and how to be more sustainable. “I learned most of my knowledge from volunteering; free education,” she said.
Student in the Entomology class (Left-Right) Miki, Kawehi Lopez, and Mele Adams.
Kawehi Lopez along with Mikiʻala Taylor, juniors here at UH Hilo, created a video highlighting basic beekeeping techniques and practices in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi as a final project for the Entomology 350 Advanced Beekeeping course, a follow up course for students who have already taken Entomology 262. Both students hope to create a series of informational videos as well as a booklet in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. “We chose to create an educational video that incorporated ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi because of our shared passion for the language. We believe ʻōlelo can be encompassed in all aspects of life. As students in second year Hawaiian language, we felt that this beekeeping project would help strengthen our ʻōlelo and reinforce the content that we were learning in both classes,” said Lopez.
Sustainable agriculture is at our fingertips. Think now before you eat that apple how you could make a positive impact on our society. Is it through education and simply taking the time to watch a video about bee’s or remembering to keep your recycles and taking them to a redemption center. As Mele would say, “Honey for my Honniezzz!” Think about sustainable and how it relates to you.
Honey from the UH Hilo Bee’s. Photo taken and provided by Mele Adams.
For more information regarding the Entomology program, courses available to students, or interested in the informational videos and booklet, please contact Dr. Lorna Tsutsumi at tsutsumi@hawaii.edu.
Link to: Information from NBC
