Success Story4-H teaches how to "bee" a beekeeper



4-H teaches how to "bee" a beekeeper

Author: Morgan Murphy

Planning Unit: Elliott County CES

Major Program: Agriculture

Plan of Work: Youth Agriculture outreach in the community

Outcome: Intermediate Outcome

This past summer, Elliott County 4-H was able to offer a 4-H Beekeeping club for youth ages 9-18. The 4-H beekeeping club consisted of youth learning about bees as pollinators and learning about how to become a beekeeper. Youth met every 2 weeks at the extension office where I have 3 beehives. Each week the kids worked on identifying eggs, brood, larvae, uncapped and capped honey, drones, worker bees, and of course the queen bee. As the club progressed, each member was able to become more independent in hive maintenance and were able to do more tasks independently. I was able to purchase needed equipment for the beekeeping club with an ag mini grant and matching funds from the Elliott County District Board. We have 6 members and are able to continue sparking interest with bee club by doing day camps and lessons in the schools. The 4-H bee club has also experienced requeening a hive as well as doing mite treatments. This gives them practical knowledge for if/when they decide to get their own bees. When picking up a new queen and her attendants for one of our hives, I was able to do a clover bud lesson on bees and pollination and the kids got to see a live queen bee and some worker bees up close and safely through a queen installing frame. If youth or members of our community ever become interested in checking out our beehives, we have suits and I am willing to go out with them and show them the basics. I have been able to recruit 2 more into 4-H bee club this way. Elliott county has a thriving beekeeping community which has served to be a great resource for the club. We get all materials needed for the club at The Honey and Bee Connection in Morehead, KY and they also provide great advice for our club as well. Our club is planning to take a field trip to their operation in the early spring to see their observation hive inside their shop and learn about their business. Our club hopes to overwinter all 3 hives of bees and continue the club next spring! 






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