On a plot of land near Wilkinson in Hancock County, about 250 apple trees are taking root.
They’ve only been in the ground for five years.
Joe Ricker, the founder of At Ease Orchard is excited about their progress, “I think they are doing fabulous. I’ve had some impact from disease, but I’ve learned a lot from that.”
While the branches of the trees are quickly growing, the idea for At Ease Orchard comes from the branches of the military.
Joe is a veteran.
“At Ease is what you do in the military with your final formation. The military will say At Ease and that means you can go and relax,” he explained.
After 30 years in the service Joe is now a retired colonel and is “suiting up” these days in a new role.
His mission is to provide the equipment, training and education for Veterans suffering from traumatic on-the-job injuries and other disabilities, improve their well-being and to find purpose through beekeeping and other farming skills.
One of the beneficiaries of the program recently started earning her bee keeping wings. For the last 13 years, Christa Hopple served full time with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
“As an older female, I decided I wanted to go into the military and make a difference," Christa recalled. "I was 41 years old when I went to basic training with a bunch of younger soldiers."
After two deployments in Kuwait, she stepped away from a full-time assignment and is now one of 60 veterans benefiting from Joe’s mission.
She is just getting started. “On my journey, March is when I took the beginner course 101 bee keeping in Muncie. The challenge is there’s so much information and bees have different personalities,” Christa explained with a grin.
“I absolutely find this job calming and fun compared to what I was doing,” she said.
Equipment for a hive costs about $700 to $1,000 dollars. Two Indiana State Department of Agriculture grants and private donations help fund the program.
According to Joe, the hobby is addicting. “Once you get one hive and it survives the winter which is a huge challenge for beekeepers, then you absolutely want to continue to grow. Honey is sweet. Everybody likes sweet."
