For veterans, a beekeeping class that doubles as therapy
What drew Nicholas Kaminski to beekeeping was the combination of the responsibility and risk that came with caring for the fuzzy, stinging insects.
It felt familiar to him.
“It may sound ironic that taking care of venomous insects is therapeutic, but it actually is,” said Kaminski, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to 2014, including two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.“It’s very calming to work a hive and care for it and have that responsibility."
When he returned to Michigan, he began keeping bees on his small farm in Kent City.
Then he became part of a free nine-month program called Heroes to Hives, which teaches veterans about beekeeping in a Michigan climate. It also works as emotional and physical therapy.
"When you’re talking about us veterans, you’re talking about a group of people who more often than not are used to being put into high-stress situations with high levels of responsibility, and beekeeping gives them that same amount of accomplishment and gives them the feeling of doing the good that they so desire," he said.
The program is the brainchild of Adam Ingrao and his wife, Lacey.
Adam Ingrao joined the Army shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but was medically discharged just two years after that because of a training accident.
“My experience transitioning from the military as a disabled veteran, I really struggled to find something that was rewarding and kind of fit my need to continue to serve my country,” Adam Ingrao said.
He found beekeeping meditative. The bees force you to stay present, reminding you with a sting if comes down to it, he said.
“It’s kind of like a mindfulness spell, like ‘Hey, you need to be here. You need to be with me right now,’” he said. “It allows us to step back from reliving the past over and over again and experiences we may have had, whether it’s serving in the military, serving in combat, but it allows us to really be present and really engage in something at that moment.”
The program developed gradually. Ingrao, who lives and farms in Lansing, discovered his love of bees in 2010, when he took a class on beekeeping at California Polytechnic State University.
It was a chance to "continue serving my country by supporting one of the most important insects on the planet,” he said.
He moved to Michigan to get his Ph.D. in entomology and opened up Bee Wise Farms in Lansing's Urbandale neighborhood.
In 2014, he started working with the veterans in agriculture network of Michigan Food & Farming Systems, a nonprofit that connects veterans with agricultural resources and opportunities, and started the Farmer Veteran Coalition of Michigan the following year.
It seemed natural in 2016 for him to develop another program for veterans, this time more specific to his great passion — bees.
That first year, Heroes to Hives had five veteran students. The program was run at Ingrao’s Lansing farm.
In 2017, with funding from the AT&T Foundation, the program was expanded and brought to MSU. There were 15 students, and the program was held at the Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners.
This year, the program has 111 students at five locations around the state—Chatham, Traverse City, East Lansing and Saginaw, in addition to Hickory Corners.
The program covers how to raise bees in Michigan, but a good portion of it also tackles aspects of personal wellness, from how to meditate while beekeeping to ergonomic techniques for the physically disabled.
A consequence of having a class filled with people who share similar struggles and experiences is that the students start opening up to each other about their combat experiences, injuries and relationships.
“That was something that was not fully intended in the beginning, but it’s become a major focus now,” Ingrao said.
It’s turned the beekeeping classes into communities.
“There were definitely veterans there with injuries and PTSD, and that calm environment was great for them,” said Jeremy Huffman, a student in the 2017 course. “I definitely understand that because being a farmer has been great for my mental health and my physical health as well.”
Agriculture and beekeeping was not a path that Huffman had initially envisioned for himself. His grandfather was a farmer, but Huffman studied business in college and was a stockbroker before enlisting in the Marines immediately after Sept. 11, 2001.
He left the Marines in 2006 and soon was running a Subway restaurant in Pennsylvania. In 2009, he started a small garden. He started experimenting with container gardens and different systems and began to find the garden work peaceful.
“One of the most comfortable places I’ve been is as a Marine and now as a farmer,” he said. “Having my own agency, being in control in my life and just having such wonderful experiences with family all the time, it’s just great.”
He started an organic farm just outside Flint after moving back to Michigan in 2010. Bees are incredibly important to keeping his farm productive and flourishing, so getting hives of his own was just a natural evolution, Huffman said.
He already knew Ingrao through Ingrao’s work with Michigan Food & Farming Systems, so when Huffman found out about Heroes to Hives, it made perfect sense to him to take the course.
"Most veterans are task oriented," Huffman said. "(Beekeeping) is task oriented. It does take dedication. It is difficult. You are going to get stung, but you get to part of this superorganism."
Kaminski, too, was drawn to the task-oriented nature of beekeeping and also to the contribution it would allow him to make to the environment.
He chose bees for the minimal impact on the land and because of the decline in honeybee colonies. He’d been beekeeping for about three seasons before attending Heroes to Hives.
The memories that stick out the most for him are the moments he was interacting with the other veterans or engaging with the public in live demonstrations at the Michigan Honey Festival in Frankenmuth.
“It really goes back to networking and being with other veterans," he said, "and working together toward the common goal of bettering the environment.”
Contact Natasha Blakely at (269) 223-0114 or email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter at @blakelynat.
Heroes to Hives
Bee Wise Farms