The hum of coal mining machines will soon be replaced by the buzz of bees in Southern West Virginia.
The New York Times this week reported on the nonprofit Appalachian Headwaters, an organization that reclaims degraded waterways and landscapes while providing economic and entrepreneurial opportunities to former coal miners – including honey production, bee colony sales, native plant cultivation.
"For some people it might be a side hustle, but for other people it could really turn into, over time, a true income that could sustain a family," said Kate Asquith, program director at Appalachian Headwaters, to the New York Times.
It's an area of the country that Deborah Delaney, assistant professor of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware, says is perfect for a honeybee and native plant enterprise. The land is mostly covered by forests, which aren't threatened by the pesticides that plague insects in industrial farm areas.
The apiary program is young, but so far they have about 86 hives. Next spring, the program hopes to distribute about 150 hives to 35 beekeepers either free or through a low- or no-interest loan.