We started the day (very hot by the way!!) touring at Blue Ocean Mariculture. Robyn Korte (Fish Hatchery Manager) showed us the hatching process of the delicious Kona Kampachi. It is very impressive the work done at the facility.
Second stop was at Kaʻūpūlehu Cultural Center. We met with Auntie Leinaala Lightner and talked story about the “Try Wait Initiative” implementation until now. It was very inspiring to hear about the project of 10-year rest period for Kaʻūpūlehu’s reefs.
We started our bee and honey session with a tour at Kona Queen Hawaiʻi which was founded in 1975. Gus Rouse, owner of Kona Queen Hawaiʻi showed us how to raise Queen Bees to be shipped to all over the country and also internationally. It is really amazing to learn all the hard work they put in to have a high quality bee.
Last stop of the day was at Big Island Bees. The owners Whendi Grad and Garnet Puett gave us a tour at their facility where they receive the hives and bottle the honey. Also, right on the side we visited the museum and tasting room where we could see production tools, hives, “Bee art”and also tasted many wonderful raw honey.