At our July 17 meeting David Arnal will give a presentation about the Beaufort/Jasper Beekeepers Association, a private non-profit organization dedicated to education and advocacy ensuring that South Carolina beekeepers have the information and tools they need to meet the challenges of modern beekeeping.

 

A naturalist at heart, when he was young he became an avid birdwatcher, being able to name all of the songbirds in his yard by the age of 6. As a schoolboy fishing, hunting and hiking occupied his days. His beekeeping endeavors began in 1988 at Clemson University where he had the opportunity to tend five established beehives. Before long his entire kitchen was overrun with 2 liter soft drink bottles full of honey. Since that time David’s fascination with the honey bee and her secrets have been not only an agricultural pursuit but also a significant intellectual study; today this pursuit has become the basis of his avocation. While at Clemson University David studied Architecture where he graduated cum laude and was the undergraduate visual arts award winner. After Clemson he worked for the US Forest Service co-designing a master plan for the Snake River Canyon in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Graduate studies led David to Harvard University in 1990 where his design background proved invaluable in receiving a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture with an emphasis in Landscape Ecology. His studies included detailed studies of bison herd management in Yellowstone National Park, a cost-benefit analyses for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and designing an ecotourism resort for the Wampanoag Indian Reservation on Martha’s Vineyard. Upon graduation from Harvard, David moved to Belize Central America, where he worked as a designer for the Belize Zoo and for the new National Museum of Belize.

In 1994 David began working with environmentally conscious real estate developers, including the renowned developer of Hilton Head Island, Charles Fraser. Projects over this decade long period included architectural planning efforts on the Town of Celebration for the Walt Disney Company, designing the seaside villages of WaterColor and Camp Creek on the Florida Panhandle for the St. Joe Company, and planning the sale of environmentally sensitive Deer Island to the State of Mississippi for preservation from development. Simultaneously David launched his gourmet bottled honey business on Hilton Head Island in the mid-1990’s. Although it began as a part-time business, David’s gourmet hon ey business prospered. Today David’s beehive products business is based on Hilton Head Island, SC after being headquartered in Atlanta, GA (until 2012) and is formally known as Hilton Head Honey, LLC. Currently, David has approximately 60 beehives on Hilton Head Island in multiple locations, including the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn and the community farms at Hilton Head Plantation and Port Royal Plantation.