Randall Hidy is a beekeeper, swarm-chaser, and educator born in Colorado. He tends to hives in several different locations across the front range, while trying to be an advocate for our pollinators along the way. His passion for bees started with a general love of nature and gardening. Growing up, his family always had a garden, and loved to make pickles and other canned goods from family recipes passed down through the generations. Much like RMFU, the Hidy Family has deep roots in farming. Randall’s Great-Great-Great Grandfather purchased acreage to farm in Fayette County, Ohio in 1858. The Iowa Farm Bureau recognizes this farm as a Heritage or Century Farm, being in the same family for over 150 years, and was recently featured in the Carnegie Historical Museum.
In his younger years as a Boy Scout, Randall learned about leadership and civic duty, creating his drive of wanting to make the world a better place. Before his passion for beekeeping began, Randall earned over ten years of experience as a solar installer, “farming the sun.” Installing solar gave Randall the feeling that he was making the world a better place, by inspiring change. During Covid, Randall took a break from solar and worked at his local foodbank, Broomfield FISH, helping his community battle food insecurity. Being a beekeeper makes him feel like he is making a positive impact on the world in not just one, but several ways. By being a beekeeper, not only is he providing raw honey to his community, he is helping nature. Randall plans to do queen-rearing/breeding to be able to produce and sell bees. He wants to do pollination services, moving his bees across the country, pollinating crops as the seasons change. He plans to continue being a mentor to fellow beekeepers, passing on knowledge he feels fortunate enough to have received himself. While prioritizing continuous learning himself, he does want to share his knowledge by teaching classes at the Old Elm in Boulder. There he hopes to educate the community about bees and their importance. On top of honey, Randall also hopes to sell pickles, canned goods, vegetables, lavender, pollinator plants, etc. and potentially even help create a co-op market. Selling local, raw honey gives Randall a sense that he is helping provide medicine to his community, which improves the lives of others around him.