An American apiarist who grew up watching his grandfather keep bees has expressed his delight about apiculture’s potential to bring people of different age groups and ethnic backgrounds together.
Mark Lilly – a master beekeeper at the Appalachian Beekeeping Collective in Hinton, West Virginia – lauded the NGO he is engaged at as a “great cross-section of society.”
Speaking to West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Mark explained: “We’ve got young teens, all the way up to more senior citizens, different ethnic backgrounds.”
He added: “I’d be comfortable in saying at least 50 per cent of the collective members are ladies.”
Mark – who is based in Summers County – has more than 25 years of beekeeping experience. He offers free apiculture lectures to beginners on a regular basis.
Today, spending the evenings managing his hives together with his children and grandchildren is what he enjoys the most.
A study by gardening services provider Lawn Love ranked West Virginia among the top five US States when it comes to the number of available beekeeping classes.
Beaming with content, Mark claimed: “I think we could probably prove that the Appalachian area provides world-class honey.”
Referring to the impeccable cooperation of a honeybee hive, he added: “I think we can all learn to get along like honeybees.”
