Inmates all abuzz after first honey harvest as beekeepers in training

The Leon County jail in Tallahassee, Florida, is all abuzz these days.

Inmates in a special training program designed to smooth re-entry into the community after incarceration are getting to see the fruits of their labor – or rather the honey of their labor – for the first time.

The Leon County Sheriff's EARTH Haven program, or Ecology And Reentry Training Hub Haven, has four active beehives that inmates are taking care of with hopes of harvesting honey and beeswax.

The program began about a year ago, joining a smattering of similar initiatives at detention facilities across the country, from Washington to Minnesota to Georgia.

In Tallahassee, the first harvest was last week.

Leon County Sgt. Daniel Whaley showed two inmates how to remove the bees from their hives with smoke and to check if the combs had honey ready for harvesting. The six-month program prepares the incarcerated for the workforce once they are released.

"It's teaching me how to wake up all the time to go to work," said Donatarius Gavin, who had been in the reentry program for 22 days at harvest time and said he thoroughly enjoyed learning about beekeeping. "Mostly keeps my mind at ease."

Inmates in the program can earn a beekeeper apprentice certificate from the University of Florida.

If they don't complete the program before they are released, they can choose to finish it and receive the certificate on their own.

Following the apprentice certification, inmates could choose to further their education and become master beekeepers, which would allow them to travel, inspect other beekeeper's hives and help them better their apiaries.

Gavin hopes to take a hive home with him when he is released. He plans on using the beeswax to make wave grease for hair.

As a father of five, he hopes he can teach his kids the skills he is learning.

"I'm having a lot of fun with it so far, I think they'll like it," Gavin said. "I think they'll like to get in the bee suit and do the whole thing."

About 7.5 gallons of honey were harvested last week. It will be given to employees in the Leon County Sheriff's Office.

Eventually Whaley hopes that the inmates can package the honey to sell at local stores as well as items made with the beeswax including lip balms, candles, soaps and more.

Contributing: Donovan Slack, USA TODAY