Pocono News Section

Bees and Beer at the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort

Bees and Beer at the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort - Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 04:02AM EST

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Thursday May 27 2010
SHAWNEE ON DELAWARE, MONROE COUNTY - The Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort has hired thousands of new employees but only one of them is human The rest are insects, bees brought in to pollinate the resort garden and make honey.

Charles Rice is in charge of the new hires. He's the resort bee keeper. He smiled, "If i were a bee i would want to live right here." Here is right between the Shawnee Inn golf course and the Delaware River. It's also next to the resort garden. Rice said, "This garden will produce much more of everything because these bees are right here going from plant to plant."

Shawnee uses produce from that garden in it's restaurants and it's Shawnee Craft beer. That's important to customers like Mary Bendycki. She said, "i know that it's always going to be more flavorful and generally more healthy."

The bees aren't just for pollination. Shawnee hopes to create a buzz by using their honey. Shawnee Manager Pete Kirkwood smiled, "We can use every drop that we make. It's going to be great."

The resort will use it in its restaurants. And in it's Very Special Old Pale brew. Kirkwood said,"I think that what we're doing here is a reflection of a consciousness that's emerging in lots of different places. People really want to feel connected to their communities. People want to understand where their food comes from."

And the beekeeper says using ingredients and plants supported by bee colonies helps make us an important part of the human colony. He explained, "Everybody - every bee works together for the good of the whole."

Shawnee expects to start using the locally made honey this fall.
And for any of you afraid of being stung, the resort says these are very nice Italian honey bees. They won't bother you if you don't bother them.