Transcript:
At two solar farms in Texas, veterans are suiting up – not in their military uniforms, but in protective gear for beekeeping.
They’re tending hives as part of a partnership between solar developer Enel North America and Hives for Heroes. The nonprofit, founded by Steve Jimenez, helps veterans find healing and new purpose.
Jimenez: “Getting out of the Marine Corps … I felt like I came home very incomplete.”
But when he opened a beehive for the first time, everything changed.
Jimenez: “I felt like the weight of the world come off because I was focused on just one thing, which was these incredible little bees.”
Since 2018, his group has helped thousands of veterans get into beekeeping as a way to connect with one another, cope with anxiety and post-traumatic stress, and learn new skills.
Some vets become hobbyists, while others manage hives at businesses and other locations.
At the Texas solar farms, they tend hives near rows of solar panels. The bees pollinate wildflowers and other plants that grow under and around the panels and produce honey that the beekeepers harvest.
So the veterans are helping transform these solar farms into thriving landscapes – and finding meaning and purpose beyond the battlefield.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
