Students Visit Honey Farm To Learn About Bees

Tanya Zimmer’s Anacapa Middle School students spent the day at Bennett’s Honey Farm in Fillmore on Monday.

Zimmer said a teacher applied for a grant to pay for the trip last year, but by the time the funding came through those students had graduated, so her students got to enjoy the trip.

The honey farm known for selling Topanga Quality Honey to Costco and other stores around the world usually gives tours to college students studying agriculture.

Al Fortune and Greg Drinkhall gave the tour. They encouraged the younger students to consider beekeeping job opportunities.

Students watched how honey is made after tasting a variety of honey flavors.

“The plight of the honey bee is so important to our day to day lives so the more education the better off we are,” said Fortune.

Fortune told the students about collapsing hives and how California’s drought is taking a toll on local honey production.

He also explained that a pollinated crop will produce nearly ten times more fruit and nuts. And he said the pollinators are girl bees, and male bees called drones are needed for breeding.

Students watched a Queen bee at work. The queens are bred with the help of Royal Jelly that helps them grow larger than the other bees.

Students left with an appreciation of bees, honey and wax.