Stone is just the start of…

nurturing habitats

The honey bee plays a critical role in our food supply by pollinating more than 100 of the crops we eat, including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus and melons. While their population has declined over time, beekeepers have helped stabilize it in recent years.

Many of these beekeepers, like our own Dan Babish, Regional Sales and Operations Manager for Luck Stone, nurture hives as a hobby in their backyards. 15 years ago, Dan and his wife bought their first hives and started raising bees on their property to support honey bees’ critical role in our ecosystem.

stanley

Supporting a New Kind of Community at Luck Stone

Over the years, Dan has continued to grow his beekeeping skills and saw a unique opportunity to introduce his craft to the team at Luck Stone’s Greene Plant in Ruckersville, Virginia.

“We completed a stream diversion in 2020 that affected several acres of land,” said Stanley Powell, Greene’s Plant Manager. “We wanted to improve the property and the natural habitat to support the wildlife here through reclamation, so we planted a mini orchard with apples, peach, and pear trees. Then Dan came to us with the idea to add honey bees.”

In 2022, Dan worked with the team at Greene to purchase two hives from a local beekeeper, and they extracted their first honey in 2023.

“The Greene team was engaged in the whole process right from the beginning,” Dan said. “I have enjoyed sharing everything I have learned and watching others get involved. Stanley and his foremen suited up on day one and have been hands-on since then.”

bee shelf

Today, the Greene Plant has four hives, and they extracted their second round of honey in August of 2024.

The honey and its natural benefits are gifted to associates at the plant, and the team hopes to eventually have enough honey to donate to local food pantries.

Growing Our Community of Bees

When Bobby Kluczyk, former Rockville Plant Manager and current Plant Manager at our Spotsylvania and Massaponax Plants, heard about the hives at Greene, he reached out to Dan and talked to Rockville’s Maintenance Materials Coordinator, Eddie Turner, a seasoned beekeeper.

“Harvesting honey for our team is a unique way to support their well-being,” Bobby said. “The bee hives allow us to offer the amazing health benefits of local honey with our associates and their families.”

Eddie tends to about 25 hives at home and brought 2 to the plant. The hives are located in front of the plant’s shop, where fruit trees and wildflowers offer the bees ample sources of nectar.

While Eddie is primarily responsible for taking care of the bees, he gets a lot of questions throughout the year from other associates.

“People ask a lot about how the bees are doing,” Eddie said. “And, of course, they get excited when it’s time to give the honey out.”

eddie turner

Caring for these bees has provided a new way for our associates to work together and learn new skills, while also creating a habitat for bees—an essential part of our ecosystem and integral to our food supply chain.”

Building More Buzz

As the buzz grows within Greene and Rockville, Luck Stone’s resident beekeepers hope our other sites will be interested in the idea.

“The hives have been a source of honey, a benefactor to the environment, and a way to engage associates,” said Dan. “It would be really exciting if other plants were interested in the idea and placed hives on their sites. Caring for these bees has provided a new way for our associates to work together and learn new skills, while also creating a habitat for bees—an essential part of our ecosystem and integral to our food supply chain.”

aerial view of quarry

Stone is just the start…

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