What’s all the Buzz About?
By Julia Schibbelhut ’21 (St. Paul-Onalaska WI)
A buzz swept the hallways as mysterious boxes were hauled in from LITES (the Luther Interpretive Trail & Environmental Site). Inside each case, frames filled with honeycomb oozed golden honey. The Ecology class, taught by Professor Greg Diersen ’96, spent their lab period processing the first harvest of MLC honey and marveling at the role of bees in Creation. The MLC grounds keeper Tim Rambow is also the MLC beekeeper. He set up the hives and assisted with the harvest.
“I never expected to have this experience,” says Emmalie Olsen (Good Shepherd-West Bend WI). “Everyone got really into it. We had so much fun!”
First, students scraped off the waxy layer that capped the honey-filled cubbies.
Pictured from left: Sofia Spiegelberg (Trinity-Castries St. Lucia), Moriah Poehlman (St. John-Maribel WI), Emmalie Olsen, Noah Arnold (St. Paul-Oconto Falls WI)
Next, students spun the frames to force honey out of the combs and collect it in a tub.
Pictured: Nathan Curtis (Faith-Sharpsburg GA), Luke Willems (Bethany-Fort Atkinson WI)
Finally, students filled honey bear after honey bear with the freshest honey they’d ever tasted. In all, 144 bottles and several extra quart jars comprised this year’s harvest. The honey was dispersed among MLC honey fans, and the wax was saved for another science project to come.
This feature was originally published in the MLC InFocus, Fall 2018 issue.
