HINTON, W.V. – Leaders of the Appalachian Beekeeping Collective (ABC) and ABCHoney.org will host Gayle Manchin, Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Tuesday afternoon.
Appalachian Headwaters leaders participating include:
- Terri Giles, VP of Government Affairs will host the visit
- Mark Lilly, Head Beekeeper and Educator, and two partner beekeepers will talk about the Appalachian Beekeeping Collective program
- Kevin Johnson, Education Specialist, will talk about Camp Waldo and our children’s education program
- Kristin Wickert, Lead Scientist, will talk about the Appalachian Pollinator Center
ABC is a project of Appalachian Headwaters, a 501©(3) nonprofit organization. ABC helps beekeepers in distressed Appalachian counties learn how to keep bees an environmentally responsible way. The beekeepers not only earn income from the project, but also learn about local ecology. The program trains, supports, and provides bees and equipment at no cost to partner beekeepers. ABC partners practice natural beekeeping, using no synthetic chemicals or antibiotics.
ABC then extracts, bottles, and markets the honey. ABC hopes to connect to consumers who otherwise would be inaccessible to small-scale rural beekeepers, helping ABC partners earn money from their hard work.
During the tour, Machin will visit the newly built Recreation Hall where a handful of beekeepers will talk about the program, and give Manchin and her staff time to meet and learn about how much the program has meant to them.
The group will then travel to the Bee Building, the former camp gymnasium which has been converted into a warehouse, processing line, and shipping center. Along the way, they’ll stop by the high tunnel where Greg Grim, the facility’s Plant Specialist, will talk about Headwaters Native Plant program- a small part of the facility’s ARC grant.
ABCHoney.org was launched in 2020 to sell raw natural honey harvested by more than 100 partner beekeepers from hundreds of hives in Central Appalachia.
“Central Appalachia is ideal for natural beekeeping,” said Terri J. Giles, a vice president at Appalachian Headwaters. “Our bees gather pollen and nectar from pristine forests and fields and not from agricultural crops sprayed with pesticides. The native Appalachian forests are full of nectar-rich species like tulip poplar, black locust, sourwood, and wildflowers. That translates to the natural and healthy taste of our honey.”
The ABCHoney.org website features a selection of raw natural honey and gift sets highlighting Appalachian artisan goods such as hand-carved honey spoons by Greenbrier County native Eddie “Spoonman” Fletcher, and beautiful pottery from ceramicists like Walter Hyleck. Other gifts include Benko Glass, J.D. Dickinson Salt, and organic teas.
Learn more at www.appheadwaters.org and www.abchoney.org.