​Lil' Buzz Films
About Our Project
Duane and Wanda Waid have been beekeeping and selling their honey in the Finger Lakes region of New York for almost 40 years. They’ve been hit hard recently. Each year the Waid’s have to buy one third of their hives because many of their bees are dying off due to colony collapse disorder. Our documentary, shows the special relationship this couple and their family have with these pollinators.
Characters
Before he started his beekeeping hobby business almost 40 years ago, he owned a printing press and ran a newspaper in Interlaken, N.Y. He and his wife, Wanda, moved there as they were starting their young family. Everyone was a part of the print shop and soon became involved with the bees.
After selling the printing press, Duane has been keeping busy with his bees. He and his family started extracting honey and making candles full time. They sell all of their products locally.
Duane Waid (Interlaken, N.Y.)
After her husband purchased the print shop and newspaper, Wanda became very involved in copy editing and managing the business. She raised their children while working in the print shop and selling honey products on the side.
Wanda enjoys spending time with her family, who all primarily reside in the Finger Lakes region, and is fortunate to watch her grandchildren grow up around their hobby business.
Wanda Waid (Interlaken, N.Y.)
Tom is a professor of biology in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University, where he has taught since 1986. Seeley received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Dartmouth College and he received his PhD in 1978 from Harvard University.
Seeley first became interested in honeybees when he was a teenager. He found a swarm and observed their behavior after capturing them in a wooden box.
Currently he is researching wild colonies of honeybees and how they are dealing with the problems of bee survival such as parasites and pathogens.
Tom Seeley (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Duane and Wanda’s great-grandson, Dustin, is heavily involved with the family business. Despite having a bad reaction to a sting last year, he is excited to continue working with the bees and Duane.
He also completed his GED in 2013 and currently works at the Cayuga Lakes Creamery, which sells an ice cream flavor that incorporates the Waid’s wildflower honey
When he isn’t teaching elementary physical education, Craig helps his dad Duane with the bee hives and goes to the Ithaca Farmers’ Market on Sundays. He eventually got his own bees and together, Duane and Craig have around 150 hives.
Craig’s son, Holden, also became involved with beekeeping at a young age by making circular combs to put into the hives. Within the next few years, Craig plans on retiring and may take over the family business.
Craig & Holden Waid (Interlaken, N.Y.)
Dustin Borel (Interlaken, N.Y.)
