As the American Honey Queen, I travel around the United States as a saleperson and public representative for the American Beekeeping Federation, the national organization for beekeepers. There is also an American Honey Princess, Amy Roden, and together we educate adults and children about the honey and beekeeping industry. Some of my favorite activites as the Honey Queen are talking to elementary school students and doing interviews for TV, radio, and newspapers.
To see if the American Honey Queen or Princess can visit your school or community, visit the ABF website.
My Travels:
To see if the American Honey Queen or Princess can visit your school or community, visit the ABF website.
My Travels:
December
In the month of December, travel slowed down, but I still had time to talk to people about honeybees and honey. On December 9, the Purdue Dean's Scholars learned about honeybee genetics and the chemistry of honey. I also told them about honeybee anatomy (the science of the body). Did you know honeybees have a heart, brain, and muscles, just like we do? They also have some unique body parts- like two stomachs!
We didn't talk about anything quite that difficult when I went to Illinois to present to Kindergarten students at Northeast Elementary in Danville, Illinois. They were very excited to hear about how honeybees make honey!
My last event of the year was an interview with Ag Day, a nationally-televised show about agriculture. Honeybees are a very important part of agriculture- pollinating over 90 crops in the United States. I talked about recent news in beekeeping and how all crop growers can help take care of our bees!
It's been quite the year! As Princess Amy writes about on the Honey Princess page, we are getting ready to crown next year's American Honey Queen and Princess. They will continue to educate people about the importance of honeybees and promote using pure, American honey. They will also have a brand-new website that will be linked from this page; stay tuned for more details coming in January!
Later in the convention, I helped to crown the new Texas Honey Queen and Princess-Kaylynn Mansker and Kellie Lenamond!
October- Part I
October has been another busy month! I started out in Massachusetts, where I worked at the oldest fair in the United States. The Topsfield Fair has an amazing building all about honeybees! (http://www.topsfieldfair.org/bees.php ) While there, I talked at observation hives where people can look inside and actually see what the honeybees are doing. One of the neatest things that happened was when two new queens were born in one hive! Now, there can only be one queen bee per hive, so they fought! It was something I had never seen before, and all of the fairgoers were pretty excited too!! Learn about how a queen bee is chosen here!
Also, I taught kids from local schools about honeybees through a program sponsored by Häagen-Dazs (the ice cream company). They donated honeybee friendly wildflowers, information, and ice cream for the day where kids got to see bees, learn about pollination, honey, and beeswax, and make a craft. No, the ice cream was not sweetened with honey- but honeybees played a big part in it! The ice cream flavor was strawberry; honeybees pollinate berries. Honeybees also pollinate alfalfa, food for dairy cows, so all ice cream needs honeybees! Learn more about Häagen-Dazs at http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/. Make a bee e-card to send to your friends, learn about planting a garden for honeybees, and play a game help your honeybee explore her field!
After Massachusetts, I headed south to Georgia. In Georgia, I worked at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, talked at schools and clubs for adults about how honeybees are important to Georgia crops- like cotton! Did you know that without honeybees, we would have less cotton for our clothes? That means jeans, t-shirts, and socks all need honeybees!
I also went to Cordele, GA- the "Watermelon Capital of the World". Watermelons also need honeybees for pollination; because of this, watermelon growers pay beekeepers to set beehives in the watermelon patches while the plants are blooming.
Arizona was my next state to visit. Even though it's dry there, there are still beekeepers and plants that make nectar for honeybees. One of the most famous types of honey in Arizona is called mesquite honey; it actually has a little bit of a smoky flavor- like barbaque sauce. While in Arizona, I talked to 1,794 students about honeybees and how important they are to each one of us. At many schools, the students had questions about Africanized honeybees. These honeybees are more agressive, but like any type of bee, the best thing to do is just to leave them alone. If you see a honeybee, if you cross your arms and walk away slowly, they won't bother you!
Leaving Maine, I headed to Northwest Pennsylvania for my second visit to that state. I had a TV, radio, and Newspaper interview. While there, I also spoke to over 600 students (from Preschool through high school) about why we need honeybees! Some of the classes were learning about apples; so I taught about how we wouldn't have apples without honeybees that pollinate them! Many students were surprised to learn that I started keeping bees when I was 12 years old- the same age as many of you!
September (Part I)
The past few weeks have "buzzed" right by! The month of September began at the Maryland State Fair; at this booth, I talked about honey and wellness. Many people were surprised to know that the honey they were buying for its delicious taste can actually be used for a sore throat or to help a cut heal faster! Find out more from Princess Amy about how Honey is not Just for Cooking! The beekeepers and I sold a ton of honey- everybody wanted to try the local varieites of honey such as thistle and locust.
After a long flight from the east coast to the west, I arrived at the Palo Cedro Honey Bee Festival in Northern California. I worked with a group of beekeepers that have a very special job- raising queen bees. Before the festival, I participated in 6 radio interviews and talked to students in the Palo Cedro area. During the festival, I answered questions, sold honey, and got a bee beard! This is where bees are on your face and neck in a beard-like shape! While it did make me a little nervous, hopefully people learned about how honeybees are important to us and nothing to be afraid of!
My next stop was in Pennsylvania. During this week, I presented to over 950 students about how honeybees pollinate many of our fruits and vegetables. Everybody gasped when they learned we wouldn't have pizza or ice cream without honeybees! I also got a chance to work with Pennsylvania Honey Queen Tess Bryson! That weekend I went to the Franklin Fall Farm Fun Fest and spoke about how we need honeybees on the farm too!
August
I've been very busy in the month of August! I started in New Jersey where I worked with beekeepers there. There was an observation hive and I pointed out the queen bee. She lays around 1,500 eggs every day and is the most important bee in the hive! After New Jersey, I traveled to the West Coast to Washington and Oregon.
At the Clark County Fair, there was a live hive where the other beekeepers and I showed fairgoers what a beekeeper looks for when we inspect the beehive. Interviews at TV stations in Portland, Oregon helped bring people to the Clark County Beekeepers Association "Bee Barn". At the "Bee Barn", families could see honey entries, look at an observation hive, and learn about how honeybees are different from other bees and wasps.
On August 13, I went back to my home state of Indiana for our State Fair for an interview on IndyStyle; watch the interview here and learn how to make a peanut butter and honey dip- the recipe is on the Cooking with Honey page. One of my favorite activities was for National Honey Bee Awareness Day (find out about helping the bees at their website). This day celebrated how important our bees are to us! I also handed out samples for "A Taste of Indiana Agriculture" and dipped and sold handmade beeswax candles in the Pioneer booth.
West Virginia was my next state to visit- the honeybee is their state insect, and I got to visit their Commissioner of Agriculture and talk to him about how honeybee's help several important crops to grow. During the week, I also worked at the West Virginia State Honey Festival where beekeepers brought in different types of honey- including honeysuckle and autumn olive. I talked about how there are hobby beekeepers (someone who keeps bees for fun) and commercial beekeepers (caring for honeybees is their full-time job).
July
Root Candles in Ohio was the first trip for July. I helped with their factory tour and learned all about making beeswax candles. I also handed out honey samples- they had clover, orange blossom, buckwheat, and wildflower varieties of honey. The different types of honey depend on the nectar in the flowers the worker bees visit.
My next trip was to Kentucky to visit the Lexington Farmers' Market and Bluegrass Fair. At the farmers' market, many people came by to buy local honey (find some near you on the Honey Locator). The picture to the left is judging honey- it's judged on much more than flavor. I worked at an educational display with beautiful pictures- I even got to talk to people about bees in Spanish! Let's learn some "bee" words:
honey--------miel
bee-----------abeja
wax-----------cera
queen---------reina
pollination---polinización
June
That same day, I had the chance to meet with the Indiana State Department of Agriculture's Director to talk about how honeybees help many of our food crops to grow!
April
April started with a visit to the Purdue Lab School. I talked to preschoolers about basic honeybee facts- how not having honeybees would be like missing an entire meal! ABC foods like Apples, Blueberries, and Carrots all need honey bees for pollination. Also, the students showed me their WAGGLE DANCE- Foraging honeybees dance to tell their sisters where good pollen and nectar is by dancing!
March
During Spring Break, I traveled to Minnesota and Mississippi to promote honey! In Minnesota, Amy and I attended the University of Minnesota Beekeeping Short Course. We learned a lot and talked about the American Beekeeping Federation, a national organization of beekeekpers.
After that weekend, I headed down south. I stayed with a commercial beekeeper (someone who takes care of honeybees as a full-time job!) who raises queen bees there in the winter. While in Mississippi, I did a cooking demo, making Honey Punch (really easy- try the recipe!) Presenting to a women's club at a church was a lot of fun too. Adults love facts about honeybees just like you. One of my favorite events was a day at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson. Sometimes people make laws about honeybees or give money for research; I addressed the House of Representatives about the importance of honeybees to our food supply. The Speaker of the House received a basket of honey products!
February
The next weekend, I went to Florida for the State Fair. I worked with a chef and did cooking with honey demonstrations! For great recipes that you can make at home, check out the Cooking with Honey page. For the next few weeks I stayed in Indiana (my home state). I talked to several different groups about how important honeybees are to our lives! I have some exciting trips coming up, so check back soon!
About 1/3 of everything we eat
3. How much honey does one honeybee make in their lifetime?
Only 1/12th of a teaspoon- but a honeybee hive may make 70 pounds of extra honey each year- talk about teamwork!
4. How many flowers does it take to make 1 pound of honey?
2 million
5. What is the queen bee's job?
To lay eggs- she's the mother of all the other bees in the hive
November
In November, I went south again to slightly warmer weather in Tennessee. This trip to Clarksville included talking to groups of children and adults about ways to use honey. I talked to the Sunrise Rotary Club, schools, and scout troops about honeybees. Both Boy and Girl Scouts loved the Holiday Punch recipe and planned on making it for their families' for Thanksgiving. Speaking of Thanksgiving, the National Honey Board has provided a honey-centered meal for the holiday! The Girl Scouts also liked to make a Sweet and Salty Honey Scrub (recipe below- not a food!) using honey. There are so many ways to use honey- not just on your biscuit... though, they are pretty good for that too!
Sweet and Salty Honey Scrub
1 cup Epsom's or Sea Salt
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup HONEY
1/3 cup Sweet Almond, Grapeseed, or Apricot Kernal Oil
1/2 teaspoon Essential Oil (I love Lavendar!)
Mix it all together; it will look a little like crystalized honey. Store in a water-tight container.
Directions for use: Scrub in to keep skin soft and smooth. Rinse off.
The next week, I went to Texas. The Lone Star State welcomed me for the Texas Beekeepers Convention. The Texas Honey Queens and I held a program called Kids Learning About Bees. The local families and schools participating in KLAB stopped at stations about extracting, beeswax candles, honey tasting, pollination, and beekeeping equipment. I also participated in a honeybee quiz bowl- testing how much we know about honeybees. Here are some sample questions... how much do you know (hint, many of the answers are on this site) Answers are at the VERYYYY bottom of this page)
1. How many different types of honey are there in the United States?
2. What portion of our food supply do honeybees pollinate?
3. How much honey does one honeybee make in their lifetime?
4. How many flowers does it take to make 1 pound of honey?
5. What is the queen bee's job?
Later in the convention, I helped to crown the new Texas Honey Queen and Princess-Kaylynn Mansker and Kellie Lenamond!
October- Part II
At the end of October, I went back to Oregon for the Northwest Corner Beekeepers Conference. Before the weekend's conference, though- schools in the area had the chance to learn about honeybees! At Lee Elementary, the students were especially excited to learn that honeybees have 5 eyes!! Three of their eyes are simple eyes that see a single picture, just like ours. The other two eyes are called compound eyes.
 |
| Similar to what a honeybee sees though their compound eyes |
This means they see lots of pictures of the same thing (sort of like the kaleidescope on the right).
While I visit Oregon, I also had the chance to try Meadowfoam honey. It is darker in color and tastes a little like toasted marshmallows! Find out more about honey varieties here!
After visiting schools, I went to the conference. Beekeepers were meeting there to discuss ways to keep their honeybees healthy. I spoke to the beekeepers about the Queen program and the upcoming North American Beekeeping Conference in Galveston, TX.
After visiting schools, I went to the conference. Beekeepers were meeting there to discuss ways to keep their honeybees healthy. I spoke to the beekeepers about the Queen program and the upcoming North American Beekeeping Conference in Galveston, TX. October- Part I
Also, I taught kids from local schools about honeybees through a program sponsored by Häagen-Dazs (the ice cream company). They donated honeybee friendly wildflowers, information, and ice cream for the day where kids got to see bees, learn about pollination, honey, and beeswax, and make a craft. No, the ice cream was not sweetened with honey- but honeybees played a big part in it! The ice cream flavor was strawberry; honeybees pollinate berries. Honeybees also pollinate alfalfa, food for dairy cows, so all ice cream needs honeybees! Learn more about Häagen-Dazs at http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/. Make a bee e-card to send to your friends, learn about planting a garden for honeybees, and play a game help your honeybee explore her field!
After Massachusetts, I headed south to Georgia. In Georgia, I worked at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, talked at schools and clubs for adults about how honeybees are important to Georgia crops- like cotton! Did you know that without honeybees, we would have less cotton for our clothes? That means jeans, t-shirts, and socks all need honeybees!
I also went to Cordele, GA- the "Watermelon Capital of the World". Watermelons also need honeybees for pollination; because of this, watermelon growers pay beekeepers to set beehives in the watermelon patches while the plants are blooming.Arizona was my next state to visit. Even though it's dry there, there are still beekeepers and plants that make nectar for honeybees. One of the most famous types of honey in Arizona is called mesquite honey; it actually has a little bit of a smoky flavor- like barbaque sauce. While in Arizona, I talked to 1,794 students about honeybees and how important they are to each one of us. At many schools, the students had questions about Africanized honeybees. These honeybees are more agressive, but like any type of bee, the best thing to do is just to leave them alone. If you see a honeybee, if you cross your arms and walk away slowly, they won't bother you!
 |
| Answering Questions is always fun! |
September (Part II)
Since September had so many different events, there are two entries for it! After leaving Pennsylvania, Maine was the next stop on my trip. Maine is well known for its blueberry honey- which doesn't taste like blueberries since the bees visit the flowers, not the fruit! During my trip, I worked at three different fairs! At the Farmington Fair, I helped local beekeepers sell honey and beauty products. Honey and Beeswax are used in different products because they help keep your skin soft and smooth. The Punkinfiddle Festival celebrated all things "Autumn" and I got to tell many people about how honeybees even pollinate pumpkins that you carve for Halloween! At the Common Ground Fair, beekeepers sold local varieties of honey- from blueberry to buckwheat (a dark, very strong honey).
Leaving Maine, I headed to Northwest Pennsylvania for my second visit to that state. I had a TV, radio, and Newspaper interview. While there, I also spoke to over 600 students (from Preschool through high school) about why we need honeybees! Some of the classes were learning about apples; so I taught about how we wouldn't have apples without honeybees that pollinate them! Many students were surprised to learn that I started keeping bees when I was 12 years old- the same age as many of you!
The past few weeks have "buzzed" right by! The month of September began at the Maryland State Fair; at this booth, I talked about honey and wellness. Many people were surprised to know that the honey they were buying for its delicious taste can actually be used for a sore throat or to help a cut heal faster! Find out more from Princess Amy about how Honey is not Just for Cooking! The beekeepers and I sold a ton of honey- everybody wanted to try the local varieites of honey such as thistle and locust. 
My next stop was in Pennsylvania. During this week, I presented to over 950 students about how honeybees pollinate many of our fruits and vegetables. Everybody gasped when they learned we wouldn't have pizza or ice cream without honeybees! I also got a chance to work with Pennsylvania Honey Queen Tess Bryson! That weekend I went to the Franklin Fall Farm Fun Fest and spoke about how we need honeybees on the farm too!August
On August 13, I went back to my home state of Indiana for our State Fair for an interview on IndyStyle; watch the interview here and learn how to make a peanut butter and honey dip- the recipe is on the Cooking with Honey page. One of my favorite activities was for National Honey Bee Awareness Day (find out about helping the bees at their website). This day celebrated how important our bees are to us! I also handed out samples for "A Taste of Indiana Agriculture" and dipped and sold handmade beeswax candles in the Pioneer booth. July
honey--------miel
bee-----------abeja
wax-----------cera
queen---------reina
pollination---polinización
June
At the beginning of June, I finished up my trip to Kentucky (see May, below) and began some local adventures! At the Frankfort Public Library, I talked about using honey in the kitchen and made a delicious honey punch. You can make it too- just visit the Cooking with Honey page. Getting to work with the Indiana Honey Princess, Lacy Dooley, at the Indiana State Beekeepers summer meeting was a lot of fun- we're going to be doing Cooking Demos at our State Fair. Did you know there are state and even local Honey Queens? Find out more from a beekeeping organization in your area. On June 29th, I went to Indiana's capital, Indianapolis, for a TV interview. You can learn to make a Sweet and Salty Honey Scrub and Honey Cole Slaw by watching the IndyStyle link on the Other Websites page.
That same day, I had the chance to meet with the Indiana State Department of Agriculture's Director to talk about how honeybees help many of our food crops to grow!May
I have been keeping busy the last few months! At the end of the school year, I visited over 2,000 students! May 12th-15h, I went to the border of Michigan and Indiana where I talked to schools and the Michiana Bekeepers. I also presented to residents of Westminster Village Retirement Community; people of all ages are excited to learn about how honeybees provide the building block of our food supply. At the end of May, I headed down to Kentucky for a very busy and full week of activities- including 27 school presentations to elementary, middle, and high school students, talking at a library and beekeepers' meeting, and a TV interview on WTVQ which you can watch here:.
April
April started with a visit to the Purdue Lab School. I talked to preschoolers about basic honeybee facts- how not having honeybees would be like missing an entire meal! ABC foods like Apples, Blueberries, and Carrots all need honey bees for pollination. Also, the students showed me their WAGGLE DANCE- Foraging honeybees dance to tell their sisters where good pollen and nectar is by dancing!
March
During Spring Break, I traveled to Minnesota and Mississippi to promote honey! In Minnesota, Amy and I attended the University of Minnesota Beekeeping Short Course. We learned a lot and talked about the American Beekeeping Federation, a national organization of beekeekpers.
February
In Iowa, American Honey Princess Amy and I had media training. We had TV and Radio interviews, and also visited four elementary schools.
The next weekend, I went to Florida for the State Fair. I worked with a chef and did cooking with honey demonstrations! For great recipes that you can make at home, check out the Cooking with Honey page. For the next few weeks I stayed in Indiana (my home state). I talked to several different groups about how important honeybees are to our lives! I have some exciting trips coming up, so check back soon!Answers to the Trivia Questions from November:
1. How many different types of honey are there in the United States?
Over 300!
2. What portion of our food supply do honeybees pollinate?About 1/3 of everything we eat
3. How much honey does one honeybee make in their lifetime?
Only 1/12th of a teaspoon- but a honeybee hive may make 70 pounds of extra honey each year- talk about teamwork!
4. How many flowers does it take to make 1 pound of honey?
2 million
5. What is the queen bee's job?
To lay eggs- she's the mother of all the other bees in the hive
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.