Laurier Brantford’s Golden Hawk Honey awarded best in province

Feb. 23, 2026
For Immediate Release

BRANTFORD — Wilfrid Laurier University’s Golden Hawk Honey, harvested from apiaries on the roof of the One Market building at the Brantford campus, has won first place at the provincial level of the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies honey competition.

The honey advanced to provincials after earning a best-in-district honour in November 2025.

“I’m thrilled that our little rooftop apiary brought home the gold,” said Christine McKinlay, Laurier’s associate director of development and volunteer apiary manager at the Brantford campus. “Honey competitions are more than just a chance to win ribbons; they’re a celebration of craftsmanship, stewardship and the incredible work of the bees themselves.”

McKinlay started beekeeping as a hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic but has now taken responsibility for nurturing the 320,000 honeybees who call the rooftop of One Market home. She’s supported by a team of Laurier Brantford volunteers who join her in performing regular hive inspections, administering medicines and miticides as needed, and harvesting the honey.

“Golden Hawk Honey serves as a great introduction to pollination for our students, staff and faculty,” said Eric Meliton, manager of Laurier’s Sustainability Office. “It provides a unique opportunity to tackle pollinator decline firsthand through sustainable beekeeping.”

Up to three-quarters of food crops grown for human consumption depend on, or benefit from, animal pollinators like honeybees.

The One Market apiary, which launched in 2022 with support from the university’s Sustainable Hawk Fund, played a role in earning Laurier Brantford a Green Business Award from the City of Brantford in 2024.

This award-winning batch of Golden Hawk Honey was harvested in July and August 2025 and reflects the local botanicals in season at that time. According to a honey sommelier McKinlay consulted, one of the dominant flavours is basswood, a tree common to Brantford and a flavour that’s particularly desirable among honey connoisseurs. 

“In competition, judges are looking for everything from a honey’s taste to the appearance of its container,” said McKinlay. “It’s a really fun challenge to make each jar of Golden Hawk Honey as perfect as possible.”

In November 2025, 120 jars of Golden Hawk Honey were made available for purchase at Laurier's Hawk Shop and sold out within days. Proceeds from the sales were invested in maintaining the hives and developing experiential learning opportunities at the One Market apiary.