Above and bee-yond for justice
Prisoners at the Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility (ARWCF) have started off the new year on a sweet note.
They have just harvested the first honey of the season as part of their beekeeping course.
Over the next year, the six women will study to graduate with a Level 3 Apiculture certificate from Lincoln University.
Running for the second year in a row at the prison, the ladies are being mentored by a fellow inmate who completed the course with the previous year’s batch.
She says she has always been ‘‘fascinated with bees and will continue beekeeping’’.
Beekeeper Brian Alexander, 66, is volunteering to help the women prepare for life after prison.
He visits them every week for classroom and practical lessons and says the response he’s received from them ‘‘is terrific’’. He also teaches at the men’s corrections facility.
‘‘It [teaching the inmates] has become an important part of my life. I really enjoy it,’’ he says.
With 40 years of experience under his belt, he has worked most at commercial farms and says he is ‘‘not a hobbyist’’.
He started working with a beekeeper when he was about 25 years old.
Alexander says it’s all about giving the inmates an employment opportunity.
‘‘Some of them won’t continue, some will keep a few beehives in their backyards, and some will work for beekeepers. You can see it in their eyes,’’ he says.
Trying out the honey, one of the inmates says that’s ‘‘liquid gold we’ve got there’’.
After their time in jail, the inmates will be able to use this certificate to work with beekeepers or even start their own venture.
‘‘Some of them won't continue, some will keep a few beehives in their backyards, and some will work for beekeepers. You can see it in their eyes.’’
Each of them has been sponsored by the Howard League, coming to a total of $1800.
‘‘There are people out there willing to help. All the equipment today has come from the Rodney Beekeepers Club,’’ Alexander says.
Department of Corrections instructor Phil McEvoy who supervises them says the ladies ‘‘love it’’.
He says no one has thought about dropping out and all the inmates from the previous batch completed the course successfully.
Some of the honey harvested will be donated to charity, some will be kept for the inmates to enjoy and the rest will be gifted to prison visitors.