Apiculture NZ Ron Mossop Youth Scholarship opens up opportunities for Lucas Waldin

2023 Apiculture New Zealand Ron Mossop Youth Scholarship in beekeeping recipient, Lucas Waldin. Photo / Supplied

Canterbury-based Lucas Waldin is the recipient of the 2023 Apiculture New Zealand Ron Mossop Youth Scholarship.

Judges said the 19-year-old was a standout candidate for the scholarship, which was set up to help young people into a career in beekeeping.

Waldin showed great potential and a real enthusiasm for the industry, judges said.

The 19-year-old first became interested in beekeeping at high school, after learning about it from friends.

He kept this interest in bees when job hunting, managing to get a position with Wright Honey Co. in 2018.

Waldin said he started out doing odd jobs, such as cutting sack for smokers and doing up hive straps, before progressing to taking part in the honey harvest.

He enjoyed working more consistently with bees and interacting with them.

“There’s heaps to learn [including] how little things that you do have a big effect on them.”

Waldin is now working full-time at Wright Honey Co. while completing the New Zealand Apprenticeship in Apiculture scheme.

The scheme is run through Primary ITO in partnership with Apiculture New Zealand.

The three-day block course was “phenomenal” as the tutors had so much information to pass on, he said.

Waldin said the course also provided a well-rounded learning base that made him step back and research a bit deeper.

The Ron Mossop Youth Scholarship includes $2000 to support training and set-up costs for new beekeepers, a one-year membership with industry body Apiculture New Zealand and attendance to Apiculture New Zealand’s industry conference, scheduled for June 2023.

Waldin was “pretty stoked and surprised” to be awarded the scholarship.

He said it opened up many more opportunities for further training to add to his skill set - such as getting a forklift license.

It would also help him cover other costs, such as his Disease Elimination Conformity Agreement (DECA) without having to juggle finances, he said.

Waldin hoped to start his own beekeeping operation one day and said the scholarship would enable him to engage in the higher learning that would be crucial for his success.

“That’s something I’d be keen to work towards. It’s a long way off, but I’m keen to learn what I need to get there eventually.”

More about the Apiculture New Zealand Ron Mossop Youth Scholarship

The scholarship is named for apiculture industry pioneer, Ron Mossop, who started his family beekeeping business Mossop’s Honey in the 1940s.

Mossop was a strong advocate for beekeeper education and beekeeping best practice and this legacy continued through the scholarship.

Mossop’s son, Neil, said the family was thrilled to be able to support talented young beekeepers into the industry.

“It is a privilege to be able to help them meet their potential.”