ORC branches into beekeeping

The Winona ORC helps people with disabilities find job opportunities and training, most prominently through its laundry, document shredding, and janitorial services. But at the end of June, the organization celebrated a colorful addition to its enterprises: beekeeping.

The ORC hopes to incorporate the two new beehives into its Skills Education and Training program — which aims to broadly educate clients about the world around them in addition to learning occupational skills — and eventually produce and sell honey and beeswax goods.

Winona ORC Executive Director David Bittner got the idea at a conference a couple years ago, where a similar organization in the Twin Cities operated a beekeeping program. An ORC client on the trip was enamored. “The amount of excitement I saw from the client that was watching an observable hive inside the building was just phenomenal,” Bittner recalled.

Bittner got an even more remarkable reaction from another client who is allergic to bees — and until recently was deathly afraid of them. After learning more about how honeybees only sting in certain situations, “He got excited and actually wanted to put on the bee suit and go see the bees.” If a client could go from being so terrified of bees to so excited, what might that experience do for their comfort level navigating public transit, seeking out a job in the community, or trying other new, scary things? Bittner asked. “It’s empowering to go from being afraid to excited, and what is the next step?” he said.

The two hives won’t produce a huge amount of honey — especially not this first year — but it will be a nice complement to the ORC’s education program and garden, Bittner explained. “People with disabilities have been marginalized in our society … [They] have been sheltered or haven’t had the same opportunities to learn as everyone else. So the education thing is a big thing.”

Right now, the beekeeping work consists of checking the bees regularly for pest infestations and diseases and keeping raccoons at bay, and in the future, the ORC plans to acquire equipment for processing honey and wax.

The ORC has bee suits, but honeybees will only sting if they feel threatened, Bittner said. “As long as you’re not messing with them, you’re fine,” he said.

A $4,000 grant from the Winona Community Foundation helped ORC establish the new program.

For more information, visit winonaorc.org.