Kirkman teen learns beekeeping

KIRKMAN – A Kirkman teenager has spent the last year learning the beekeeping trade, thanks to a scholarship he was awarded in November, 2016 from the Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA).
    Reece Nielsen was one of 19 young adults from across Iowa to receive the scholarship, one of the IHPA’s youth programs.  The scholarship is for young adults ages 13-17 that have an interest in becoming a beekeeper but don’t know how to get started.
    Nielsen and the other teenagers were given beekeeping classes, a complete hive, hive tools, beekeeping attire, an experienced mentor and the bees.  Scholarship winners are required to document their first year of beekeeping with journals, photos and videos, and then present a formal project report to the organization after a year.
    Nielsen last month presented a report about his highs and lows during his first year of beekeeping.  With the help of his mentor, Lynn Danzer of Council Bluffs, he learned how to assemble a complete hive and understand the purpose of each piece and its importance to the colony.  He also learned how to properly introduce his bees to their new home and the use of the gear.
    He learned how to care for his bees by making sure he had proper hive placement and set up, checking for adequate food and water sources (supplementing when necessary), monitoring brood production, administering efficient IPM (innovative pest management) and how to extract the honey from the hive.