Environmental Insights
The land teaches first. These are short readings on pollinator health, watershed ecology, climate-resilient beekeeping and the stewardship work we do whether the harvest is heavy or light.
Beyond the Honeybee
Honeybees are livestock. Mason bees, bumble bees and solitary wasps are neighbours. We track bloom succession, nesting habitat and pesticide pressure so the valley's native pollinators keep working beside our hives.
Similkameen Watershed
Our yards sit on dry benches above the river where sage, alfalfa and wild clover set the honey's character. We leave bloom margins uncut, plant drought-tolerant forage, and move hives to follow nectar flows rather than forcing production.
The 3H Standard
Happy, Healthy, Heavy. Mark Vanderende will not pull a frame until colonies meet all three. That standard shapes every management decision — from overwintering nucleus colonies to selective queen rearing in our advanced workshops.
Adaptive Beekeeping
Drought, smoke and temperature swings are part of the Similkameen season. We select genetics for frugal wintering, keep double nucs as insurance, and time splits to the valley's bloom calendar instead of a calendar date.
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Want to go deeper? The Hive Awakening workshops cover these ideas in practice.
View 2027 workshops →