Bee Adventurous: Savannah, Georgia

Welcome to another bee-filled adventure! I’ve been so fortunate to travel and discover these fantastic places, and I’m thrilled to share them with you. This adventure brought me to the heart of the historic and beautiful, Savannah, Georgia. As I traveled through Georgia, I found that honey bees were widely appreciated, and that made my heart so happy! One of the best things I stumbled upon was the Savannah Bee Company, a place dedicated to quality beekeeping, bee products, and bee education. 

The Midwesterner Went Down to Georgia

 

To escape the winter blues, I road-tripped with a group of friends down South to Georgia. My first bee-themed encounter was in the gift shop at Providence Canyon State Park. There, I found my new favorite honey bee hat! The park is a prime pollinator habitat: wildflowers, lots of fallen logs and freshwater. It’s a paradise! 

 

We arrived in Savannah that evening and got plenty of rest to explore the city the next day. Bright and early we were out the door and exploring the historic squares. Savannah is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. Each city square has ancient towering trees, the historic homes all have flower boxes hanging from the windows and the sunshine chases the blues away. We stopped at Cherokee Square, famous for the park bench scene in Forrest Gump! We snuck into a chocolate shop nearby because you can’t go to that square without a box of chocolates, and I found honey bee chocolate! It was spectacular.

We continued to the heart of downtown when I suddenly saw the familiar shape of a hexagon. And I reacted the same way I always do…

 

“Bees!” I shouted, to no one’s surprise. We saw a shop with a honeycomb door and a sign above that says Savannah Bee Company.  

 

Savannah Bee Company

The shop has everything you could want from a bee-themed gift store. They have a honey sample bar, apparel, gift sets and a mead bar! We all love mead, right? I sampled a few of the flavors and went with the orange blossom honey. Being from the Midwest, there aren’t many chances to try orange blossom flavored anything, so I had to get it!

 

I asked the staff a little bit about the history of the company. It was started by a beekeeper named Ted Dennard. He had been selling his own Tupelo honey out of a friend’s store and found enough success to open his shop. Now, there are 15 locations across Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Colorado, Arizona, Tennessee and Connecticut!

 

While I was checking out I noticed that Savannah Bee Company partnered with an organization called The Bee Cause Project, an organization dedicated to bee education.

Educating Just Bee Cause

 

I came to find that the Bee Cause Project was started by the Savannah Bee Company in 2013. Since then, they have worked hard to help educate children about pollinators, pesticides and the impact bees have on the environment and food supply. Similar to what Beepods does for schools, the Bee Cause Project installs observation hives at schools so students can learn life lessons, as well as STEAM skills, from honey bees. 

 

It was amazing to find a place that cares about pollinator education the same way Beepods does. I left the shop with a full heart and excited to find my next bee adventure. 

 

Final Thoughts

 

States like Georgia rely on honey bees and other pollinators to keep their crops alive. Without bees, we wouldn’t have those sweet Georgia peaches or the tangy Florida oranges. As I continue to travel the country, it’s great to see more and more people and organizations stepping up to do their part to support pollinators and a cleaner world. 

 

Stay tuned for my next adventure, and if you have a place you think I should check out, don’t be afraid to let us know! [email protected]

 

Until then, don’t forget to #BeeAdventurous!