Meet the Southern Sisters: Group of women bonded by beekeeping

Southern Sisters Apiary in Gulfport was founded by three strangers with one thing in common: their desire to begin beekeeping.

Three ladies, one with the knowledge, another with the resources, and the third wanted to lend a helping hand, formed the Southern Sisters Apiary. Sharon Garguilo and Sandy Reese help raise honey bees on Cheryl High’s property. The densely wooded area has been transformed into a honey bee oasis. Garguilo said, “Here we are, four acres that Cheryl has donated to the bees to keep them happy.”

High said, “Not only do I love the land, but I love that it is being used for such a positive thing, raising bees, making honey, and being used to help them procreate.”

The sisters are looking to share what they’ve learned about beekeeping with the public this Saturday. They’re welcoming all to their apiary for an informative meeting for anyone interested in picking up the hobby. “We’ll have an observation hive and talk about the importance of honey bees to our system and food chain and the native pollinator plants that it takes to do that.”

While they’ve been busy bees themselves caring for their apiary, they say the payoff is well worth it. “Rewards are very sweet for sure. They are fascinating. We will sit out here on our chairs and we will watch these little girls and I say little girls because most of the bees in the hive are 95 percent female.”

The educational meeting will take place at 15001 South Swan Road in Gulfport this Saturday. The event begins at 11 a.m. It is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about bee keeping.