Semper Hive
'Plan Bee' program seeks to help veterans
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A bee and a veteran have more in common than one may think. They both answer to a leader and are focused on achieving a mission. These similarities are at the heart of Plan Bee, a local veterans' program spearheaded by Marine veteran Chuck Lewis.
Plan Bee uses beekeeping to help military veterans living in Northwestern Montana as a way of supporting veterans who may be disabled, wounded or suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Established two years ago, Plan Bee provides an educational and hands-on approach to beekeeping.
The program is designed to be both therapeutic and entrepreneurial.
“It’s just been a relaxing hobby,” said veteran Marine David Coffman, who is participating in his second season of the program, along with ten other area veterans. “It’s a really enjoyable process to watch a hive.”
The nine-month program began back in February with monthly workshops, hosted by a team of experts on various topics of beekeeping. Bill Austin is a Plan Bee first-year veteran participant. Austin spent 13 years in the U.S. Army as a light infantry reconnaissance scout before finishing his career in the Air National Guard as a flight medic.
“The idea of being able to learn something new sounded interesting,” said Austin. “Reading about the particulars of the bees and their habits was really amazing.”
Participants assembled bee boxes from a kit to house their beehive and colony of bees in conjunction with monthly workshops covering subject matter like bee biology, proper hive care, the equipment needed and what species of bees do best in Northwestern Montana.
“It wasn’t super hard, but you do have to pay attention and watch what you are doing,” Austin said about the bee box building project.
On Friday, the Plan Bee group gathered at a local bee yard (also known as an apiary) for the hands-on portion of the program, which was about inserting honeybees into their new hives. “This is cool. What an adrenaline rush,” said Austin, as he cautiously carried a box full of buzzing bees to their new home.
“I am pretty excited,” he said after placing his colony of bees into the hive under the watchful eye and helpful hands of instructors. “This is really neat. Now, I start applying the knowledge to the physical environment.”
Throughout the next several months, the veterans will periodically return to the apiary to check on the health and progress of their individual hives. The completion of their mission will come sometime in August during the harvest of the honey and wax from the hives, which is when the veterans will learn the steps involved in the processing of both wax and honey.
Along with learning something new, the honey aspect of beekeeping was also a motivator for Austin.
“There are so many useful application and products you can make out of honey,” Austin said. “It’s pure nature.”
For veterans interested in working with bees, check out the Facebook page under Plan Bee for more information.
