To Bee Or Not To Bee? That's This Hercules Man's Quest

To say Scott Jorgensen is as busy as a bee might be a bit misleading.

Bees, you see, aren't necessarily that busy this time of year.

But Jorgensen is.

The 2006 Hercules High School graduate is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to put 10 honeybee colonies in the Hercules Community Garden.

As of Friday afternoon, Jorgensen has received $2,750 in pledges toward his $5,000 goal. There are 16 days left until the Aug. 26 deadline.

The Hercules native has always been interested in nature. His parents took Jorgensen and his sister on many hikes and other outdoor adventures when they were young.

In high school, Jorgensen took an AP biology course that he said "changed his life." He attended U.C. Santa Cruz and graduated in 2010 with a bachelor degree in plant science.

Jorgensen then joined the Peace Corps and lived in The Gambia in western Africa from January 2011 to January 2013. During his two years, he helped a small rural village with agricultural projects. He also got stung with the idea of raising and caring for bees.

"I decided I'd like to give it go with beekeeping," he said.

When he returned to Hercules, Jorgensen moved back in with his parents to save money so he could get his beekeeping business going.

This first year he is educating himself about the industry and expanding his colonies. Right now, he has 11 hives in Hercules and Walnut Creek. Four of those hives are in his parents' back yard.

Each hive can contain up to 50,000 bees during peak activity times in spring and summer. The hives will decline to under 12,000 bees during the more dormant winter period.

Jorgensen hopes to expand 50 hives next year and make money by selling honey, breeding queen bees and bringing his bees to farms and orchards to pollinate crops.

"This is my passion and I want to make it my career," he said. "The work is fun and it's neat to see the bees grow and make honey."

Jorgensen is fascinated with the way bees socialize, breed and work together.

"The entire colony acts as one organism, a super organism," he said.

Jorgensen also hopes to help reverse the declining bee population as well as help move the United States away from its mega-agriculture culture.

"I'd like to help produce food another way," he said.

Jorgensen notes that bees pollinate one-third of crops that humans eat. Those include stone fruits, avocados, melons and almonds.

He does get stung often, but it's usually on his hands.

Jorgensen advises people not to swat at bees. He says they have compound eyes that pick up rapid movement more easily than slow movement. So, if you stay still or move slowly, they won't notice you. If you flail away with your hands, they're more likely to attack.

Bees will sting, he notes, if they feel you are a danger to their hive. Older bees are more likely to attack because their stingers are more developed and they are near the end of their lives.