With a steady hand, 91-year-old Ray Goldwire presses a jagged knife through rows of honey-filled frames. The wax cracks as sweet, golden nectar spills into a plastic pail below. The blade scrapes against the wood, and with each rough stroke, months of work are released from the comb.
For the Bee Buddies at Oak Hammock, a Gainesville retirement community, this batch of honey represents weeks of attentive beekeeping. For Goldwire, a master beekeeper, the journey began 21 years ago with the purchase of four honey bee hives.
Goldwire didn’t expect to become a beekeeper, let alone attend “bee college.” But after moving to Oak Hammock in 2004, he met a UF student who said the property’s calm, shaded environment would be perfect for keeping bees.
“After maybe about less than a year, I said I need to share all this fun,” Goldwire said.
The Bee Buddies group, established in 2010, has grown to include eight members, each with varying levels of beekeeping experience. Many have taken — and some have even taught — classes at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Bee College, a two-day beekeeping training, often using it as an entry into the hobby.
The group has also given presentations at local schools in Gainesville, offering mentorship opportunities to K-12 students and to Oak Hammock residents interested in learning more about beekeeping.
The Bee Buddies’ honey bees live on the 136-acre property in hives tucked beneath a canopy of Spanish moss and sprawling trees. Inside each wooden box decorated with hand-painted flowers, about 30,000 honey bees call the hive home.
The Bee Buddies now manage four to five hives and harvest honey to sell to residents within the community. On Sunday, the group harvested 60 pounds of honey to be bottled in the coming weeks.
According to Oak Hammock, the group harvested more than 100 pounds of honey last fall. With jars priced at $10 each, Goldwire said they sell out quickly, as residents are always eager for more local honey.
The demand for the Bee Buddies’ honey reflects a broader interest in backyard beekeeping.
Interest in beekeeping across Florida has grown significantly in recent years — particularly backyard beekeeping, or maintaining hives in residential areas. Florida has nearly 5,000 registered beekeepers managing more than 650,000 colonies, according to UF/IFAS data.
Molly Ragan, the marketing chair of the Florida State Beekeepers Association and a hobbyist beekeeper, said the association has seen rising numbers in membership.
“Backyard beekeeping has really taken off as a trend,” she said. “There's so many beekeepers that people can meet and get interested in.”
Alachua County alone boasts 137 registered beekeepers, according to 2025 data by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
For 78-year-old Tom Ogg, the newest member of the Bee Buddies, his beekeeping journey began just over a year ago at Oak Hammock. He is now taking online courses through the UF/IFAS Bee College to earn a certification as a master beekeeper.
The best part about beekeeping for Ogg is opening the hive and watching thousands of bees diligently work to produce honey and protect their queen. Notwithstanding the occasional sting, he finds himself checking on the bees each day just to watch them work.
“Before I started this, I thought I’d be stung to death with all that, but they’re docile,” he said. “It’s just fascinating to watch them.”
Olivia Lofaso is a contributing writer for The Alligator.
