Hello all,
Please forgive my laziness in not searching the Archives, but my
skills in that area are lacking, and since it seeems this past season
is a blur, well...
I have a nephew who would very much like to get the beekeeping merit
badge. I was told by my local Boyscout council that as long as can
physically get a copy of the book and a badge, that this is OK. I'm
not so sure about that, and I'm continuing in my investigation.
Anyway, I remember a number of posts concerning this issue, and I
believe reps. for the Boyscouts were quoted, etc. I sure would like
those contacts. If anyone can help........
In the meanwhile, I'm also in the process of talking to local scout
leaders and beekeepers in an effort to make this a registered badge
again. I myself was a scout 15 years back and I never even knew about
what I was missing. What I'm trying to do is collect letters of intent
from a number of commercial and hobbyist beekeepers that pledge
assistance to local scout troops if interested. This assistance would
be of course, things like apiary tours, maybe supplying an apiary for
the scouts to work, use of an extractor, etc. The requirements for the
badge are not that tough: the scouts must be able to identify the
different bees in a hive and discuss their respective roles. They must
hive a package or make a split, and must be able to manipulate frames.
They must build a few frames, and lastly, they must extract salable
honey. If you think about it, they really don't have to do all that
much, and it certainly would help the hobby/industry. I would ask that
other beekeepers might keep an open mind about this and might even
help to initiate a similar program in their area. If anyone is
interested in my progress, or would like to see copies of letters of
intent (as soon as I get them back) I'd bee happy to help. Just email
me at the above address.
Thanks to all
Mike
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