Milton's Billion Backyard Bee Project, Inc.

12/25/2025

Wishing you peace, warmth, and a healthy holiday season!

12/07/2025

Creamed (plain) and cardamom creamed honey is available for the holidays! For ordering and/or more information, please send us a note on Messenger.

07/01/2025

Beautiful burr comb! Time to add another honey super!

06/23/2025

05/30/2025

I extracted honey for the first time today!! 🍯💛🍯

We pulled three frames from one of the hives that had some excess honey in their supers — just so I could get the full experience of extracting it myself.

First, I used a heated knife to uncap the frames — scraping off the wax cappings so we could reach the honey inside. (You can see this in the photos.) Then we placed the uncapped frames into a honey extractor, which is basically a centrifuge that spins really fast and flings the honey out of the comb. The extractor is shaped like a cone at the bottom, so all the honey collects in one spot. When you open the valve at the base, you can actually see the honey pour out — it was pretty mesmerizing. (Check out the video!) And YAY! We tested the honey and got a 18.1% moisture content!

I also got to taste test different honey Michelle and Ray brought back from Europe. I never realized how different honey could be — in color, texture, even flavor. My favorites were the Exmoor Sycamore, which had an extremely velvet and floral profile that tasted a lot like a rose smells and was the perfect amount of sweetness, and the Dorset Bell Heather, which was more of a earthy profile.

To top it off, I was gifted my very own engraved hive tool!!!

Honestly, today reminded me just how much I’ve learned this month. I’ve gotten hands-on with every step of the process — from working hands on with the bees and hives, foraging herbs, making balm, and now extracting honey straight from the hive.

I’m currently working on my senior project presentation, which I’ll be sharing with my peers and faculty on June 4th at Milton Academy. It’s going to be a reflection of everything I’ve done through the Milton Billion Backyard Bee Project!

Truly this partnership has been unreal and I could not have asked for a more fruitful, caring, and academically stimulating environment. Thank you for following along this past month — your support seriously means a lot. I’ll share more soon, but for now, I hope you all have an amazing summer :)💛🐝

05/29/2025

Huzzah! I made my first beeswax product today (one of the many honeybee hive byproducts) — and I’m kind of obsessed with it 😁.

We made a Bug Bite Balm completely from scratch. We found the ingredients, prepared them by hand, and turned them into something pretty cool if I do say so myself 🙂.

Michelle *who’s been the best mentor ever* shared her recipe using this plant called the broadleaf plantain, an herb known for its natural anti-inflammatory and skin-soothing properties — especially helpful for relieving pain and swelling from bee stings and other bug bites.

So one rainy day, we headed out to a quiet path near the community garden and foraged the plantain leaves ourselves. You can actually see how much we gathered in the photos — all packed into this little woven basket.

After drying the leaves for a few days, we infused them in equal parts of coconut and olive oil using a slow, warm process in the Crock-Pot. Once the mixture was ready, I strained it with a cheesecloth, then melted beeswax and mixed it with our plantain infusion, vitamin E, and tea tree oil.

While it was still warm and a liquid, I used a pipette to fill each tin — complete with our Milton’s Billion Backyard Bee Project label on the outside and a list of ingredients on the inside.

We let them cool, and just like that — Bug Bite Balm was born.

It felt really meaningful to be part of the entire process, from gathering wild herbs to holding the finished product in my hands. I gave what we made to some of my friends and they LOVED it, it smells so so good!

05/23/2025

Hi everyone! I’ve been deep in the world of beekeeping lately and wanted to share a little behind-the-scenes look at what I’ve been up to.
Last week, I helped inspect a hive that was absolutely overflowing — so much comb, brood, and pollen that we had to split the colony and relocate part of it to a second site. It turns out the hive was preparing to swarm (which is when a colony gets too crowded and the bees start looking for a new home), so we moved the queen to prevent that and give both groups more space. The queen is key to the colony's stability, so relocating her essentially gives each half a fresh start.
During the process, I got my very first bee sting… and WOW did it hit hard. Turns out I might have a very mild allergy (DO NOT WORRY!!), which meant a few nights of Benadryl and icing my hand. Definitely a rite of passage — so in that sense, I feel like a more seasoned beekeeper… though I could’ve done without it!
Luckily, I kept busy documenting everything! I edited and posted a “Day in the Life of a Student Beekeeper” video, complete with captions and a fun soundtrack (“Sugar, Sugar” for the win). It’s been amazing to see people engaging with the post — I’m excited to keep sharing what this work looks like.
Right now, I’ve got jars of honey sitting at home — freshly strained and tested. Honey is only considered edible if it’s at 18% moisture, and luckily our honey is 18.1%. I’ve been using a basic strainer so far, but I’m planning to try cheesecloth next to see if it does a better job. If anyone has advice on how to extract honey from wax in a dorm room, please let me know 😂! It’s been so cool learning how to handle raw honey and understand all the steps it takes to prepare it for use. Even better, I’ve been able to include my friends in the process and open up the beekeeping world to even more people.
Outside the hives, I’ve also been spending time in our school’s art center working on some bee-inspired ceramics. It’s been such a calming, creative outlet — I’m currently in the glazing stage and can’t wait to see how everything turns out after it’s fired in the kiln.
Next up: I’m planning a post all about my beekeeping outfit — what I wear, how I prep my hair under the gear, and why keeping everything secure is so important (trust me, I learned the hard way). It’ll be part OOTD, part practical guide, and part reflection on what it’s like to do this work in a suit that looks like it belongs on the moon.
And of course… more field adventures to come! Thanks for tuning in! 🐝🍯💛

05/07/2025

🐝 Hello, everyone! 🐝

My name is Ariam Gebresilassie, and I’m thrilled to be joining the buzzing world of beekeeping! This is the first post of many to follow where I’ll be sharing bits and pieces of this journey, so feel free to follow along! I’m originally from Rosemount, Minnesota, but I’m currently a senior at Milton Academy here in Massachusetts.

At Milton, seniors get to spend their last month of high school working on a Senior Project which is a time that allows us to take our learning beyond the classroom. I’ve always been fascinated by the interconnectedness of nature, so for my project, I decided I wanted to learn the ways of a beekeeper!

Thanks to my former science teacher, Ned Bean, who was also a beekeeper, I was connected to the Milton's Billion Backyard Bee Project — and yesterday (Cinco de Mayo!) was my first day out at the hives! It was rainy and a bit cold, so we didn’t go into the hives, but I still had an incredible time seeing them. I got to suit up, bring home some flowers and honey wax, and meet some amazing people in the Milton community.

To be honest, even though I’ve lived in Massachusetts for nearly four years now, I haven’t always felt like I’ve really been in the local community beyond campus. Already, by working with Michelle, I’m beginning to know Milton outside of Milton Academy, and I can tell this is going to be one of the most meaningful experiences of my time here. I can’t wait to keep learning, growing, and discovering more of the Milton I’ve been missing 😁.

03/23/2025

Spring is here! First Queen of the season greeting! Lots of yellow and orange pollen coming in but still 2 weeks left in mischievous March!

12/09/2024

Creamed and cardamom creamed honey is available for the holidays! Raw honey in 6oz and 12oz jars too! For more information, send us a note on Messenger🍯🐝

11/28/2024

Happiest Thanksgiving to our honeybee friends and family! We’re so grateful for your continued interest and support. Wishing you a peaceful day surrounded by those you love🧡