The Scouts of Troop 989 in Littleton, Colo., have recruited a lot of volunteers to help in their annual fundraiser. They’re not exactly sure how many, but it’s likely more than 100,000 very busy volunteers.
For the past seven years, the troop has sold honey that the Scouts have gathered from two hives the troop owns and maintains.
It’s a profitable operation. The Scouts can collect around 100 pounds of the sweet stuff, which they sell at a local fall festival. They sell out every year, netting up to $2,000. The funds go toward camp scholarships and sending Scouts to National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT).
But for this fundraiser, the money just sweetens the deal for an already enjoyable activity.
“The boys are telling each other that it’s fun,” says Assistant Scoutmaster Heather Sondgerath. “When they show up, it’s a good leadership skill for them. It’s also a source of pride.”
Busy bees
A former Scoutmaster donated the equipment to the troop: bee boxes, suits and related gear. Teaming up with local beekeeping associations, the Scouts get expertise from beekeepers who teach them how to take care of their hives and harvest the honey.
The troop stores its hives on a property near its chartering organization where they check on them regularly throughout the year. The honeybees can fly up to five miles from the hive, so the pollen and nectar they gather come from nearby plant nurseries or wildflowers. The plants the bees collect nectar from determine what the honey will taste like.
“One year, we put the hives near a peach orchard, and the honey tasted like peaches. It was really cool,” says Eagle Scout Owen Eversman, 17.
The Scouts conduct other fundraisers, but beekeeping remains a popular one because of the unique challenge, the learning opportunities and, of course, the sweet reward.
“I’ve always had positive feedback that people still want it to continue,” Sondgerath says. “There’s no one else in our area that still does this.”
Keeping bees counts as a requirement for the Nature merit badge, but the troop’s adult leaders say it also offers chances to learn about gardening, landscape architecture, insect study and salesmanship when it comes time to sell.
Trust the process
Beekeeping is a year-round hobby that requires a careful study of each colony. A colony can contain upward of 60,000 bees, include one queen bee. Within a week or two, a colony can get sick. That’s why the Scouts, donned in bee suits, check their hives for mites.
“First, you make smoke to calm the bees down,” Owen says. “You take the top off and check the frames for honey, pollen and baby bees. You take a measuring cup full of bees and put them in a mite-checking solution. You might need to put in mite poison. They eat it, and it spreads around the hive.”
For various reasons, hives have died before, but the interest hasn’t. So the troop gets new hives.
“One of the coolest things we’ve learned is how to capture a swarm,” Owen says. “They attach themselves on a tree. We got to collect one of those. You pop them into a new hive, and you’ve got a new hive. You can touch them with your hands. They’re docile when they’re swarming.”
In winter, the hives are sealed to protect the insects from the cold. During the spring and summer, the bees collect nectar and make it into honey, which feeds the hive. In the fall, the troop collects about two-thirds of the honey, leaving some to sustain the bees. Collection day also provides another opportunity to learn about bees.
“They definitely organize their hives,” says Kaeson Laabs, 11, a Scout. “They have all their honey; they have their larvae and then their pollen. They tend to build from the middle out.”
Fundraising fun
The troop strains the raw unpasteurized honey, then jars it and labels the containers — about 10 gallons worth every year. A pint-size jar sells for $25, and an 8-ounce jar goes for $13. The troop also collects beeswax to make into lip balm. The community is very supportive, the Scouts say.
“Local is always best, honey-wise,” Owen says. “It’s definitely unique because we saw the product that we worked on.”
Working on this fundraiser also builds the Scouts’ soft skills, like leadership and confidence.
“I have a really big fear of bugs,” Kaeson says. “But I’ve been getting really into the bees. It’s different and I like honey.”