Dozens of students from Rolland-Warner Middle School’s Bee Club participated in a honey harvest this afternoon at the hives behind the school. With help from a couple local beekeepers, Ken Frantz and Dave Peasley, students extracted what they hope will be a huge haul, even larger than last year’s 150 pounds.

Special Education teacher Mike Wiltse said the range for honey extraction varies wildly, from approximately 200 pounds to as much as 600 from the six hives.

After the honey is extracted, it will be bottled and marketed for sale. Last year the students’ honey raised more than $1,000. This year, that number could easily double.

Doris Rolland, one of the namesakes of the school, was on hand to see the students at work. Ironically, Rolland was involved in a similar program for students in Flint in the 1950s. They didn’t have fancy white suits back then, though. When I asked her what her suit looked like in those days, she responded: “You’re looking at it.”

Once again a big thanks goes out to members of the PTC and the Lapeer County Community Foundation for all their help starting and maintaining this great learning opportunity for students.