Sign up to sponsor Marvel Bees here!
My name is Anneliese Marvel and I fell in love with honey bees over ten years ago – long before I saw a hive in person. Everything about bees struck me as magical: the way they turn the visual beauty of flowers into the physical sweetness of honey, their sisterhood in the hive, and the way human agriculture and honey bees have evolved together over 40,000 years.
I started beekeeping three years ago, but after losing my colonies in 2016, I chose not to purchase new colonies for 2017. I’d like to have bees in 2018, but this time I’d like to share both the financial cost and the amazing rewards of keeping bees with my community: The knowledge, the experience, and of course the honey and wax.
By asking members of my community to share in this beekeeping venture, I can expand what I can offer in return: More hives, more equipment, more protective clothing for visiting the bees — and hopefully more honey, wax, pollen and propolis!
Sponsors will also benefit from the chance to see bees and beekeeping in action without the commitment of a class or the $300+ investment per hive. Whether you are just interested in seeing how bees are kept or considering having your own hives someday, sponsors can learn the basics and also take home resources to continue their beekeeping education.
Sign up to be a Marvel Bee Sponsor by clicking here!
More questions? Read the FAQ for sponsoring Marvel Bees.
Sponsorship Levels
Scout Bee Sponsor: $5 – Are you far away from our bees or do you want to make a small contribution? Scout Bee sponsors will receive regular e mail updates with photos and writing about our hives, the basic workshop notes, and a thank you card by snail mail.
Scout Bee Plus: Want honey or other bee products but can’t visit the hives? I’ll mail you a bee product of your choice for every additional $10 you contribute (up to $50). For example, $25 and a Scout Bee sponsorship would mean you’ll get all the updates and a thank-you card as well as two bee products!
Twenty Scout Bee sponsorships available.
Guard Bee Sponsor: $10 – Join me for an inspection of a hive and a tour of the beautiful non-certified organic farm the bees are busy pollinating. We’ll have a small group (2-5 people) and I will provide protective gear for everyone. If honey or other products are available at the time of your visit, we’ll sample them together! I’ll share all my knowledge, experience, and mistakes in three years of beekeeping, and I’ll send you home with information on keeping bees. Depending on the harvest, you’ll receive one bee product (honey, propolis, wax, or pollen). You’ll also receive a thank you card in the mail! Five Guard Bee sponsorships available.
Worker Bee Sponsor: $20 – You’ll have two spots at a hive inspection and farm tour and all the benefits of Scout and Guard Bee sponsorships. You’ll receive two of the products our bees produce. Five Worker Bee sponsorships available.
Nurse Bee Sponsor: $50 – Two spots at a basic hive inspection and tour and two chances to attend more in-depth workshops on building beekeeping equipment and harvesting honey. You’ll receive four of the products our bees produce and all the other benefits of Scout, Guard, and Worker Bee sponsorships. Five Nurse Bee sponsorships available.
Queen Bee Sponsor: $100+ – You get to name a colony’s Queen and make a name plaque for your hive at our package installation party in Spring 2018! You’ll also have up to six opportunities to attend basic hive inspections and more in-depth workshops on building beekeeping equipment and harvesting honey. You’ll receive five bee products and all the benefits of the other sponsorship levels. Four Queen Bee sponsorships available.
Note on honey and other bee products: Because these are first-year hives and because it is impossible to predict how the season will go, I can’t guarantee the quantity of honey we’ll harvest. The amount of honey and other products distributed to various sponsorship levels is subject to change based on the amount we are able to harvest!
However, all bee products will be split equally between myself and sponsors. Part of the honey I keep for myself will also go to In Good Heart Farm in return for their generosity in hosting our hives and workshops.
Ready to sign up to be a sponsor? Click here!
Want to learn some more?
Click here to read the Frequently Asked Questions.
Contact me directly: marvelfarming@gmail.com or at 919-414-4470.
- Anneliese Marvel and Neil Shock in their beekeeping gear.
How Sweet: Why I Love Keeping Bees
I jumped into farming in 2012 and the very first thing I decided to do was have hives of my own.
I was hooked as soon as I introduced my first three boxes of bees to their new homes. They were so graceful and gentle, and I learned as much about myself as I did beekeeping every time I worked with them. Though they work until they drop from the air, honey bees have a spirit of warmth I envied and wanted to practice in my own life. Busy, productive, gregarious — and fed by flowers and sunlight.
It turned out that 2012-2015, my first three years with bees, were among the worst in North Carolina for beekeepers. Late frosts, colony collapse disorder, varroa mites: on average, over 30% of colonies in North Carolina died every one of those years. I struggled as a new beekeeper, making my share of mistakes and having plenty of plain bad luck. I lost several colonies to pests and starvation, and every loss hit me hard.
I didn’t replace my colonies for the 2016-2017 season because I was so heartsick. I packed up my beekeeping equipment and started preparing to sell it all off with a bitter taste in my mouth.
But my life without bees is missing something soulful and deep. One of the most religious experiences I have ever had was catching a swarm on a tree limb twenty feet above the ground. The adrenaline of balancing on a rickety ladder with only a veil to protect my face and using my bare hands to sweep hundreds of vibrating bees into a cardboard box balanced against my chest was absolutely electrifying.
The bees didn’t sting me. They were shockingly soft, warm and golden velvet, crawling calmly across my hands and arms, their wings never pausing. They filled the air around me, an intimidating and boisterous cloud, but there wasn’t a drop of malice in their behavior. Everything about that moment was filled with excitement, possibility, joy. Bees swarm to find a new home; my spirit found a new home in spending time with bees.
I’d like to have bees again, and I have found a perfect place to make their home. My dear friends Patricia Parker and Ben Shields of In Good Heart Farm have graciously agreed to allow me to keep bees on their property: with about 30 acres of forest, fields for crops, and orchards, it’s as close to perfect as a beekeeper could ask.
This time, I’d like to share my knowledge and journey as a beekeeper with my friends and community. While many people in the Triangle are as fascinated by honey bees as I was 10 years ago, opportunities to engage with active hives and learn about beekeeping without investing $300+ per hive can be hard to find. (This is not to discount the many wonderful county beekeeping associations and beekeeping classes in our area. Here is a list of local resources.)
Your support through a sponsorship will allow me to increase the number of bee packages I purchase for Spring 2018 (up to a maximum of four packages). Sponsorship funds will also be used to purchase protective clothing (veils, jackets, and gloves) for use during group hive inspections and workshops. Sponsorship funds will also be used for some beekeeping equipment and supplies to keep our bee colonies in the best possible health. I intend to be fully transparent about how sponsorship funds are used, so you will be able to know exactly where your money goes.
My goal is to make this sponsorship like a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share: In return for your support, I’ll offer the chance to learn some basic information about beekeeping, spend time with bees on a beautiful family farm, and enjoy the products of keeping bees. In addition to honey, it’s possible to harvest beeswax, pollen, and propolis from healthy, happy hives. These products will not be for sale; they will be shared among sponsors, myself, and the farmers whose land our bees will live on.
Our hives will be hosted on a non-certified organic farm outside of Pittsboro, NC. This farm will offer our bees an unbelievable variety, quality, and quantity of flowers from which to make honey. Their options will include over 30 fruit trees, several different cover crops, and many produce crops throughout the spring and summer. I’m so excited about keeping bees on this farm: They will provide crucial pollination to the crops and orchards even as they share the fruits of their labor with us. Everybody wins!
No chemicals will be used in caring for our bees or harvesting their honey. I will use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and careful cultural practices to keep our colonies healthy. Our bees will be fed sugar water for about a month after they are installed in order to get them off to a good start, but with your sponsorship I can source non-GMO and fair-trade sugar.
However, it is impossible to guarantee the quantity of harvesting our bees’ products in advance. All products will be shared with one half of those products retained by me (for myself and our hosting farmers) and one half distributed to sponsors according to their sponsorship level. The number of products I’ve offered with each sponsorship level is liable to change according to the harvest.
Sign up for a sponsorship here!
Need more information? Read the FAQ here!
Contact me directly: marvelfarming@gmail.com or at 919-414-4470.
Scout Bee Sponsor: $5 – Are you far away from our bees or do you want to make a small contribution? Scout Bee sponsors will receive regular e mail updates with photos and writing about our hives, the basic workshop notes, and a thank you card by snail mail.
Scout Bee Plus: Want honey or other bee products but can’t visit the hives? I’ll mail you a bee product of your choice for every additional $10 you contribute (up to $50). For example, $25 and a Scout Bee sponsorship would mean you’ll get all the updates and a thank-you card as well as two bee products!
Twenty Scout Bee sponsorships available.
Guard Bee Sponsor: $10 – Join me for an inspection of a hive and a tour of the beautiful organic farm the bees are busy pollinating. We’ll have a small group (2-4 people) and I will provide protective gear for everyone. If honey or other products are available at the time of your visit, we’ll sample them together! I’ll share all my knowledge, experience, and mistakes in three years of beekeeping, and I’ll send you home with information on keeping bees. Depending on the harvest, you’ll receive one bee product (honey, propolis, wax or pollen). You’ll also receive a thank you card in the mail! Five Guard Bee sponsorships available.
Worker Bee Sponsor: $20 – You’ll have two spots at a hive inspection and farm tour and all the benefits of Scout and Guard Bee sponsorships. You’ll receive two of the products our bees produce. Five Worker Bee sponsorships available.
Nurse Bee Sponsor: $50 – Two spots at a basic hive inspection and tour and two chances to attend more in-depth workshops on building beekeeping equipment and harvesting honey. You’ll receive four of the products our bees produce and all the other benefits of Scout, Guard, and Worker Bee sponsorships. Five Nurse Bee sponsorships available.
Queen Bee Sponsor: $100+ – You get to name a colony’s Queen and make a name plaque for your hive at our package installation party in Spring 2018! You’ll also have up to six opportunities to attend basic hive inspections and more in-depth workshops on building beekeeping equipment and harvesting honey. You’ll receive five bee products and all the benefits of the other sponsorship levels. Four Queen Bee sponsorships available.
Let’s keep some bees together!
Anneliese Marvel 