HAWKINS, Texas (KETK) – When a nearby Ozarka factory contacted Hawkins ISD about a bee problem, staff turned to a team of four girls.

Together the foursome became 4G and took up beekeeping to help solve the issue.

Led by Matt Byrd, the Hawkins High School agriculture teacher and adviser for the National FFA Organization, the group created bee boxes on campus.

First, they get in their bee suits and use a smoker to help calm the bees.

Then they take the trays out of the hive, brush them off, and take them inside for extraction.

The trays are then cut to expose the honey and spun.

The final product is sent through a filter and bottled up.

The group’s project took home reserve grand champion for showmanship, and about $8,000 in equipment, at an agriculture competition in Houston, and received recognition from the Texas Department of Agriculture.

They were also featured on the Today Show show.

Now the group is preparing for their next competition in March where they hope to take home grand champion.

They also want to inspire other people across the country to create the boxes and help the insect whose numbers have slowly diminished over the years.