Tammy Horn, also known as the “Bee Lady”, is waging a one-woman campaign to reclaim land throughout Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia previously destroyed by strip coal mining. She wants to reforest reclaimed mine sites with sourwood trees and wildflowers and turn Appalachia back into a honey bee corridor. (Beekeeping was once a common vocation for many residents’ parents and grandparents.)
Horn would like to train hundreds of residents in beekeeping. They could jar honey, make cosmetics, and also learn more advanced beekeeping skills, like queen-rearing and pollination services. She hopes beekeeping can restore Appalachia’s damaged ecosystem and boost its ailing economy.
You can read more about Horn’s Coal Country Beeworks here or visit her website here.
I’m really impressed with her pro activity. I wish her much success.