BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) - Darrin Butcher calls himself a hobbyist. Building model trains and model cars are common hobbies, but Butcher’s hobby is a little sweeter.
He likes to keep bees.
As the treasurer and chief school business official for Raleigh County Schools, he had an interest in bringing his hobby into the school system in hopes it would intrigue the minds of students.
And he’s done just that with the recent opening of Raleigh County Schools’ Honey Extraction Facility, nestled within the vocational center of Shady Spring High School.
Butcher is a member of the Raleigh County Beekeepers Cooperative Association (RCBCA). He said the RCBCA has many goals, but one is to educate beekeepers and students about honey, and the business side of it.
“We wanted to get a program into schools, and I was able to coordinate the teaching side of the program in getting it off the ground,” Butcher said. “We started this about three years ago to teach high school students in Raleigh County who are interested in beekeeping just as a hobbyist, but also those who may be interested in earning money as a beekeeper.”
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture gave Raleigh County Schools and RCBCA a $25,000 grant to make the partnership and the extraction center happen. Parents, students, school officials and community members have been excited about it ever since, Butcher said.
Learning about bees and extracting honey can be completed at a low cost, Butcher said, and through the process of getting the grant award for the extraction equipment, officials were able to receive discounts and free shipping from vendors for the supplies.
“Getting all of that at such a low cost has allowed us to have more money, so we can make more products from the hives, like candles and soaps,” he said.
Program officials have also built an apiary yard in Cool Ridge to assist with the extraction facility, and the honey extracted from those hives and any other income made within the program will go back into the school system to help in a variety of ways.
Butcher explained honey extracted from the hives can go to the Academy of Careers and Technology (ACT) in Beckley, to assist with its culinary program, but it can also go toward the child nutrition program in the county, for school breakfasts and lunches.
“It’s just an all-around great program, and if anyone takes part in it, they’re able to realize it can be done as a source of income, or just something as a hobby,” he said. “So far, we’ve had a really great response from the students.”
Raleigh County beekeepers have also formed a partnership with the Appalachian Beekeeping Collective in Summers County to begin kick-off sessions in each of the high schools in both counties, when students can determine if they’d like to take part in a 10-week class and work at the extraction facility. He said the sessions will begin in the upcoming months.
Butcher explained the class will take place at ACT in Beckley, on alternating days so students don’t miss core class time.
“At the end of the class, they’ll be presented with a certificate of completion,” he said. “At that point we hope they see the program is not about kids being beekeepers, it’s about teaching them about honey bees, the purpose of pollinators, and how they can make money or just be a hobbyist because they like it.
“Everything that comes in from the program will be used to help kids further their education in Raleigh County Schools.”
For more information on the new facility, contact Butcher at 304-256-4500.
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Information from: The Register-Herald, http://www.register-herald.com
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