Teddy Krietz- Beekeeping
When I first arrived at Bermudian, one part of the program that I was asked to help assist in was recruiting to the program. Being a member of the FFA on different levels, this was something that I was privileged to do. Then one day we were in the computer lab and the students were having an AET Recordbook day. This day would allow the students to update their records and be able to ask questions on their books. In Mrs. Jarema's classes you have to have a project or keep records on something because AET is part of the students overall grade. As I observed a student with a very distinct project caught my eye. I watched him as he uploaded photos of these white boxes. I finally went up to the student and asked " What are these boxes?" "What is your project?". Teddy finally responded with "Its beekeeping and those are their hives.". Never have I ever seen a students project be on bees! From then on I was interested and wanted to know more. So after figuring out schedules and agreeing on a time I was able to complete my first visit.
So my first SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) visit that Mrs Jarema and I conducted during my internship was with the ninth grade student named Teddy Krietz, whose SAE project was on Beekeeping. Teddy is in the Ag Mechanics I class and decided to start this project once they found out that he needed a project to keep records on. Teddy and his father toyed with the idea of started some hives before but with the cost of starting up the hives scared them away. Until they found this to be the prime opportunity and reason to commit and go through with starting the beehives. While on the visit, Teddy showed me everything from the hives all the way to the tools and boxes that the bees are shipped in. It was so interesting and scary all at the same time. As long as I can remember I have always had this tiny fear of bees and it wasn't until this visit that my tiny fear was conquered. I knew that if my student could do it, I could do it and I am sure glad that I did. When we visited Teddy had just gotten in ~7 pounds of bees to start his hives. In order for the bees to adapt to their new home they must be coaxed into going in the hive. This is done by using food (sugar water) to lure them in there and once a drone gives the okay they will allow the queen bee in and begin the mating cycle. We were able to see this process after they have already adapted to their new hives. It was quite an amazing site to see the thousands of bees all over the hive just working. We were even able to spot the queen bee, which is typically hard because she blends in very well with the other bees. The only aspect that distinguishes her from the other bees is that she is a bit bigger than the rest, meaning she has a big bee-hind!
Teddy keeps his bees far away from his house in his backyard. They wanted to have the beehives close so they could monitor them and make sure nothing is snooping around that shouldn't be. This is good for Teddy because of being academically and extracurricular involved, this allows him the capabilities to take full on responsibility for this project. Teddy this year made the commitment of becoming a member of the Bermudian FFA and participated in his first public speaking contest this year!
By doing this project Teddy has opened the door for expansion in his project and by being a member of the FFA, he is capable of winning many awards for his project being different than a production animal project. This was definitely a new experience for me because I have never been or seen a honey bee operation before. Teddy has been a huge asset to the FFA program. By offering his information to being that extra helping hand, Teddy is a student that you can always count on. Especially when it comes to his updates about his honey bees!
Overall, I really enjoyed myself at this visit. It was so amazing to see how this operation works. Keep up the good work Teddy!
No comments:
Post a Comment