Be Remarkable: Brazos Valley group educating the next generation of beekeepers
A local organization is working to keep kids connected with nature by introducing them to the art of beekeeping.
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - A local organization is working to keep kids connected with nature by introducing them to the art of beekeeping.
Jaxon Meadows, 14, of Edge is one of several teens who participate in the Brazos Valley Beekeepers Association Youth Scholarship Program.
He’s one of the young men and women who are learning the importance of bees in our ecosystem and how to expand their interest into a hobby or even a business.
“I really like how the hive works and how God created its design,” said Meadows. “It’s just really interesting.”
Chris Barnes, of Cornerstone Honey Bees, is the association’s Youth Program Director.
For the past 8 years, Chris has taught over 100 youth, ages 13-18, the basics of beekeeping. The program focuses on academic classes during the school year, where Chris teaches beekeeping basics to the group and he also organizes and hosts field trips to apiaries, where the kids can get hands-on experience.
Chris works tirelessly with bee supply companies to obtain donations of bee suits, smokers, and all the other necessary tools for beekeepers, as well as the actual hive boxes and all their components. He works with a variety of commercial and professional beekeeping companies to get a full hive of bees for each student who has successfully completed the class work and finds and assigns a mentor, so each student has their own resource for all the inevitable questions.
The program culminates in the availability of a cash scholarship for those students who have completed the two-year program and still have active beehives by their senior year in high school.
Chris spends tremendous time and energy coordinating details, organizing and teaching classes, and mentoring kids to the benefit of the entire beekeeping community and our environment and it’s why KBTX and Daniel Stark Injury Lawyers are proud to present him with this week’s Be Remarkable award.
To learn more about the Brazos Valley Beekeepers Association and its youth program click here.
If you have someone you want to nominate for our Be Remarkable campaign click here!
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