From producing honey to pollinating, the honey bee is an essential farm worker
I am handed a little wooden paddle encased in golden honey that catches the light of the summer sun. The syrupy sweetness hits my tastebuds, and a bolt of sugar lights up the pleasure centre of my brain. This honey comes from beehives sitting in fields full of fireweed, and I’m transported to the meadows of Pemberton, awash with pink.
“Each jar is different because of where and when the bees fly, and that’s the fun of locally produced honey and what makes it unique,” says Honza Maly, owner of Mountain Bee Pemberton. “Two years ago, there was a spicy element in my Whistler-produced honey, which utilizes the alpine around the Dave Murray Downhill run on Whistler Mountain, and I can usually taste the old linden trees in my first Pemberton draw.”
Maly has been working with bees since his childhood. Originally from Czechia, Maly worked alongside his grandfather, eventually convincing his family he could run his own hive when he was 10. He went on to study bees at agriculture school and then travelled, landing in Canada by way of New Zealand 14 years ago.
“Bees are in my blood,” says Maly. “My grandfather used to call their buzzing ‘paradise music.’ The time I spend with the bees makes me calmer, makes me relax, although they are a never-ending puzzle I need to solve.”
Beekeeping is unpredictable — and hard work. “I often tell people who are interested that they should start with chickens and work their way up to bees.” Maly laughs, but there’s a sombre note in his tone. “By the time you spot something is wrong, it’s usually too late, and there’s no vet to call. If a colony isn’t fit before winter, they’re not going to make it, and that’s hard to deal with.”
Maly’s connection to his bees is personal and deep-rooted; they’re part of the family. They’re also vital to the larger community. “If people want to support the bees, one way is to buy local honey,” explains Maly. “Beekeepers can then make investments and improvements, and attempt to make more resilient colonies. Unfortunately, humans have spread parasites and viruses around the world that kill or make bees weaker. At this point, we need to help them survive.”Awareness of bees’ plight is growing and coincides with people wanting a natural sweetener. Honey gives that sugar kick but with beneficial nutrients and antioxidants, and even has antibacterial properties. All that goodness is largely produced by the honey bee (Apis mellifera), which isn’t one of the thousands of bee species endemic to North America.
Introduced by European settlers in the 1600s, the honey bee is also a form of livestock that provides pollinating services for farmers. While there are other pollinating bees and insects, industrious honey bees are used commercially because they form large perennial colonies, are “generalist” pollinators (have a broad diet) and are more studied.
“Insect pollinators might be responsible for pollinating as much as one-third of the crops that humans eat, and honey bees are by far our best-managed pollinators,” explains Dr. Leonard Foster, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of British Columbia. “We can move billions of honey bees to pollinate a crop system at precisely the right time, and then move them out. This can be the difference between a profitable crop and an unprofitable crop. In British Columbia, the highbush blueberry industry is critically dependent on honey bees, but cranberries, raspberries, pumpkins and tree fruits are also.”
Foster explains that as agriculture becomes more industrialized, native and unmanaged pollinators cannot effectively pollinate large fields of monoculture crops. “There is an argument that we should move away from monoculture farming, but there is no sign of that happening in the near future,” says Foster. “As commercial agriculture between Squamish and Pemberton grows, much of that will need managed pollinators. Potatoes in Pemberton are a crop that does not need insects, but berries and veggies often need managed pollinators.”
Because non-endemic honey bees are essential to farming and honey production, they need to be bred or imported. Beekeeper Iain Glass is an ardent advocate for locally raised bees. “Canada is addicted to importing bees, but we can see from catastrophic colony collapses in the U.S. that this leads to devastation,” says Glass. He began beekeeping with his father on Vancouver’s North Shore when he was around six. He has since founded Ensure Hive Future, a federal not-for-profit organization that conducts research to produce locally adapted honey bees that are resistant to mites.
Glass now shares that knowledge with beekeepers, farmers, researchers and the general public. In Whistler, he manages hives at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, the Four Seasons and Nita Lake Lodge, which have all brought bees into their operations as part of their sustainability initiatives.
“Since I started the bee experiences two years ago, parents have told me it has had a life-altering effect, changing the way they and their kids see and understand our environment,” he says. “They learn facts about the bees, but also see how intricate their hive system is. They get to stick a finger into warm honey and take some home at the same time as learning about the importance of pollinators.”
These bee experiences with Glass take place at the Four Seasons or Nita Lake Lodge, and a new learning centre is in the works at the Nicklaus North Golf Course.
“Whistler honey has become my favourite.” Glass chuckles. “Fireweed is called the ‘Champagne’ of mono-florals. It’s light and buttery, like an unoaked California Chardonnay. Whistler’s alpine flowers, along with its manicured gardens, mean the honey is a wildflower smorgasbord. This year, I’m attempting a fractional harvest from each of our locations so we’ll be able to give people tasters just like they have at a craft brewery.”
In Lillooet, beekeeper Mischa Chandler Farivar of Golden Cariboo Honey is also passionate about developing a Canadian-bred supply of queen bees. “Beekeeping has always been in the cards for me,” he explains. “My great-grandfather started doing it in the early 1950s. I ran a skate shop in Vancouver in my 20s, but I burned out from being in retail and living in the city, so I got in my truck and came here. I love the climate in Lillooet. I like that it’s hot and dry and craggy. I like how harsh it is. I feel at home here. It’s nice to have my elders around, have some wisdom in the vicinity.”
Chandler’s honey reflects the Lillooet landscape. The low moisture makes it thick, and the alpine terrain gives it a floral, almost spicy flavour. Harnessing the wisdom of his great-grandfather and great-uncle, Chandler has grown the operation from around 100 colonies to 500.
“We focus on the bees themselves. Selling hives and queens to other beekeepers in B.C. makes up two-thirds of our business,” says Chandler. “Canada imports bees from all over the world, but they’re not bred to withstand disease and our climate, which exposes us to a lot of problems. This could be solved by Canadian beekeepers supporting each other and becoming self-sufficient.”
Climate change is another big concern for Chandler. “Anything that stresses out the plants will have a nutritional impact on the bees. That’s why they’re such a good indication of the environment. When people ask me what they can do to help the bees, I tell them not to start a hobby hive but to adopt an organic 100-mile diet.”
Shannon Didier of Qwal̓ímak Nlep̓cálten (Mosquito Garden) got her first hives and some invaluable tips from Chandler four years ago. “They’re just such cool creatures,” Didier says. “We spend a lot of time with them.… I find it meditative; you have to put everything aside. You get your bee stuff on, start the smoker.… When you’re calm, you’re ready to enter.”
Didier’s hives are surrounded by a forest teeming with dandelions, clover and fireweed. “We produce wildflower honey,” says Didier. “A bee has around a five-kilometre flying radius, so their honey is influenced by what they’re close to. In our first draw, which happens in late June, it’s dandelion-forward, which gives it a little kick.”
Didier’s wild flower honey is not super-filtered, and you’ll find the odd piece of wax and pollen in it — if you’re lucky.
“Honey should be $100 a pound with the time and effort that goes into it, but it goes for $30,” laments Didier. “It’s an expensive thing to produce. But beekeepers are such geeks and we simply get hooked and can’t stop.”
When I ask Didier what can be done to support bees, she mentions the need for biodiversity on farmland and in gardens, as well as supporting all endemic pollinator populations.
Bees are crucial to a healthy ecosystem, as are the beekeepers. They’re pieces of our food-security puzzle, and both protect and reflect the well-being of the land we count on. There’s no way I could ever reach for a generic honey brand in the grocery store ever again.
All these beekeepers produce honey that gives a taste of the Sea to Sky. Find Qwal̓ímak Nlep̓cálten (Mosquito Garden) honey at the Pemberton Farmers’ Market and Mountain Bee Pemberton honey at North Arm Farm and the Pemberton Collective. Golden Cariboo honey is available in Lillooet at Country Store, Buy-Low Foods, Lightfoot Gas Chevron and K.C. Health & Gifts, and in Squamish at Farmers on Duty. Ensure Hive Honey is used in the three participating hotel kitchens and is available in Portobello’s gift shop at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.