Honey Bees
Vancouver Bee Project advocates for community education and understanding of honeybees and the role they play in our food supply. Here are some great resources we've come across. If you know of more, please send them to us!
HIVES AND EQUIPMENT
BeeBuilt is the maker of our top bar hives. Word has it they are under new ownershiop so look for new products from them in the future. This site has information on natural beekeeping, hive type, and education. There is also a lot of great information on beekeeping and online classes.
Looking to get started in beekeeping, but don't know where to start? After years of helping beekeepers get started, we've built the simplest guide with the most popular selections to help you make the best decisions for your beekeeping journey! Read below to get started in five simple steps!
Hive & Garden is the maker of our Langstroth hives. We were looking for an affordable locally made hive and we were excited to go see their shop and sales area on their farm in West Linn. These hives will be teaching hives we will use in the bee garden.
As any experienced beekeeper will quickly tell you, the word beekeeper is a misnomer. We don't keep bees in cages or on leashes. We have little control of their welfare; we only influence it in the hope of some reward such as honey and pollination. This symbiotic relationship can be elusive and occasionally challenging.
Our passion at Hive & Garden is to help you navigate through the challenges and decisions of beekeeping, such as type of hive, type of honeybee, and approach to colony management. All these decisions present a trade-off in hive management. Our mission is to help you understand these trade-offs, and pick the type of beekeeping that feels right for you.
Not a local company but this Greenwich, New York company has a ton of educational information and some good equipment. We've used their nuc hives and solar melters and love them.
HONEY BEE SCIENCE
U.S. Department of Agriculture Honeybee Surveys and Reports
The National Agricultural Statistics Service has two surveys and reports in the bee and honey program: The Honey report is an annual report of number of colonies producing honey, yield per colony, honey production, average price and value, and honey stocks. The Honey Bee Colonies report is an annual report of honey bee colonies, lost colonies, added colonies, renovated colonies and colonies affected by stressors by State and U.S.
Oregon State University Extension's MBP website
Oregon State University Extension's MBP has so many great links and resources. Unfortunately, Washington does not have a similar program that is Extension supported. This information applies to those keeping bees in the upper Willamette Valley in Clark County.