CHARLOTTESVILLE – A middle school study lab learned about beekeeping and helping others with the recent visit of a guest speaker.

Joseph Ricker of At Ease Orchard in Wilkinson spoke to an Eastern Hancock Middle School group recently about beekeeping and how his nonprofit supports military, veterans and first responders.

At Ease Orchard provides the training, equipment and education necessary for people who are suffering from traumatic on-the-job injuries and disabilities to improve their well-being through beekeeping, growing fruit trees and obtaining other farming skills.

Huffman said she met Ricker at Joy Jam, the professional development workshop at Eastern Hancock High School this summer. Since her study lab is working on discovering their own passions, Huffman shared about her own passion for creating watercolor paintings of Indiana’s historic grain elevators and asked Ricker to share his passions.

“We learned a lot about bees, as well as Joe’s passion to help veterans,” she said in an email. “Our study lab goals include learning as we work hard to pursue something we are interested in, so this was helping us get started.”