In this episode, we visit Savannah Bee Company in Savannah, Georgia, for a tour of its honeys, mead bars, and conservation work. Founder Ted Dennard shares how a Peace Corps detour became a lifelong calling, why flower sources define honey, and how The Bee Cause Project puts observation hives and bee curricula in schools. You also meet the team teaching mead’s ancient roots and modern flavors.

A honeybee pollinating a flower

Credit: Rene Mensen / Creative Commons

 

Savannah Bee Company began with a kid who fell in love with bees and never quite recovered. Founder Ted Dennard explains how early mentorship and later Peace Corps service in Jamaica kept beekeeping close to his life until a few jars snowballed into a business. Today, the company sources distinctive varietal honeys and focuses its in-house strengths on teaching and outreach. The team emphasizes that the flavor of honey is derived from nectar sources such as tupelo and orange blossom, each with its unique color, texture, and crystallization profile.

Education is the second pillar. The Bee Cause Project places observation hives and STEAM curriculum in classrooms so kids can learn pollinator science up close, building curiosity and care for the natural world. In the episode, we step into one of these classrooms to hear how students connect waggle dances, pollination, and everyday choices to a bigger environmental story. 

We also pull up a stool at Savannah Bee Company’s mead bar, where staff explain mead as honey wine with styles that range from bone-dry to dessert sweet. Georgia makers like Monk’s Meadery and Southern Origin Meadery show the category’s breadth, including seasonal releases and local fruit infusions. The conversation lands where it began: learn the bees, love the bees, then protect the bees.

 

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A Fork in the Road airs Saturdays at noon and Sundays at 6:30 a.m. on GPB-TV. Check your local listings for other replays throughout the week and watch all episodes anytime at GPB.org/ForkintheRoad.  Please download and subscribe to the Fork in the Road podcast at GPB.org/ForkintheRoadpodcast or on your favorite podcast platform.