Local veterans enlist to learn the basics of beekeeping
Steve Repasky repeated the advice multiple times Sunday as he worked his way through the first hive at Forever Heart Farm in Moon: Be slow and steady. No sudden jerks or loud bangs. A calm demeanor can help ensure calm bees.
Mr. Repasky — president of the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association — is one of two instructors leading the Bee Bootcamp, teaching basic beekeeping techniques to local veterans in conjunction with the PA Veteran Farming Project and Troops to Tractors.
There are the environmental considerations, promoting beekeeping to protect a key pollinator in the ecosystem. There are future considerations, too. With the average age of farmers on the rise, the next generation needs to learn valuable skills.
And then there’s that focus on deliberate movements, the ones Mr. Repasky showed off Sunday as he carefully disassembled a hive, pointing out things to the group of four veterans around him as he went along.
That’s why Jesse Bryson was there. The Pulaski resident — who spent six years in the Army and completed one tour in the Middle East — has a hive at his home. To Mr. Bryson, beekeeping is a way to manage his post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
“It helps me calm down,” Mr. Bryson said. “You have to be calm, you have to be slow, cautious, so you don’t aggravate them. So it helps me relax a little bit knowing you have to be relaxed for them.”
When Mr. Bryson first came across a few articles that reported beekeeping can help with PTSD in veterans, he decided to give it a try.
He got in touch with the organizers of the Bee Bootcamp to learn more about how to handle his hive, and he completed courses online through Heroes to Hives, a free online program for veterans through Bee Wise Farms in partnership with Michigan State University.
“So far, I’m doing OK,” Mr. Bryson said. “Hopefully, [I] keep them alive and produce honey and help with my garden and my blueberry bushes as well.”
Nothing beats hands-on experience. Sunday was the second time the group met in person because of the coronavirus, putting a hitch in the original plans. Still, the group will meet monthly into October.
While classes were canceled, Bob Tatro — an Oakdale resident, instructor and the secretary treasurer of the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association — built the hives. Then the group did a
Facebook Live video to display how to install the nucs, or nucleus colonies taken from larger colonies, into the hives.
“Beekeeping’s agriculture,” said Mr. Repasky, of Dormont. “You’ve got to take it in stride. … It’s different, but it’s navigable.”
As Mr. Repasky worked his way through the first hive Sunday, with the group in white bee protection suits gathered around with bee smokers in hand, he ran through the most important things for beginner beekeepers to notice.
He found multiple queen cells, which yielded three queens, a surplus that provides a safety net of sorts if one of the other hives doesn’t have a queen.
“Some haven’t taken any classes at all, and there’s a lot to know, so they’re involved and maybe finding themselves overwhelmed with some of it,” Mr. Tatro said. “They’ll learn here what they’ll need to do to keep their bees alive.”
For Christopher Rolinson, an Army veteran who lives within walking distance of Forever Heart Farm, joining this course was a little out of the ordinary.
He has always “jumped right in with two feet” to new things, but before he decided to add beekeeping to a quiver that already includes raising chickens and growing a small orchard and large garden, he wanted to learn from experts.
The idea of having bees — and eventually honey — on his property is exciting.
“I’m also a mead-maker and a brewer, and honey is an excellent source of sugar,” Mr. Rolinson said. “I’d love to have an operation where literally the things I’m making and eating and drinking come from my yard. And much of that happening is locally sourcing my stuff as much as possible.”
The funding for the Bee Bootcamp was provided by the Disabled American Veterans of greater Pittsburgh (Chapter 8), with the first year to gauge interest before deciding whether to duplicate the program.
Veterans join for a number of reasons, but financial wealth isn’t one of them.
Michael Brooker, an Army veteran from Greensburg, recalled something Mr. Repasky told him.
He said, “To make a million dollars in beekeeping, you start with 2 million.”