When Wivey Grows' Team Bees got up and running in 2023, Jason found the opportunity to turn his historic and folkloric interest in beekeeping, into hands on, practical experience. Jason met James, who leads Team Bees, and under his congenial mentoring Jason started learning the skills of the beekeeping tradition.
The first summer's work involved establishing the foundations of the hive itself; from finding a suitable area, clearing the ground, erecting fencing and building the hive. Jason reflects now on how good it was for him to dedicate the time and energy to this work, as he had been living in what he describes as "the doldrums" for some time and was in real need of focus and connection.
Jason recalls how a swarm soon moved into the hive over summer 2023, with a very chilled out Queen. Team Bees regularly checked in on them to ensure they settled in well over winter. Jason says "I didn't realise how bees were going to affect me; how their patterns throughout the year would imprint upon me and become part of my own routine. Having previously lost a lot of routine and structure in my life, this has been so helpful. Tending to the swarm and the hive requires me to be focused and calm, so I find the work brings me into a focused, centered place within myself."
The swarm has done really well and this summer Team Bees have been able to carry out two harvests, totalling around 60 pounds of honey. Jason says that he went into this work imagining it would be good to learn beekeeping and make some honey and other products that come from it, but that he has got so much more from it than he imagined. Now he says that the honey is a bonus and that it's the relationship with the hive; with the queen; that's gives him the most. He says "I have become like a guardian for a group of wild animals who have chosen to live with us. And I am captivated by them. Caring for the hive gives me so much and is a way for me to show my care for the wider environment around us."
Now Jason has his own hive at home, with a swarm that moved in this summer who he is supporting to get settled before winter comes. He is looking forward to his seeing how his hive can support the surrounding gardens to thrive next year. Jason is beginning to get a name for himself as someone who is really interested in bees and who is learning the skills and traditions to work with them. He hopes his work with bees can keep increasing and already has some local interest in his growing skills.
"Before all of this I'd lost my identity a bit and now I not only have the routine of the work, but also a growing network within which I'm increasingly becoming known as a beekeeper. It's the magic of it all that I like; moments like seeing the Queen or a waggle dance for the first time, or that first drip of honey forming on a frame. And the magic lies in the traditions and in the relationships between humans and bees; between beekeeper and hive."