The Bee Wild Paradise Valley Apiary now offers public tours

A start-up apiary in Paradise Valley is now offering the chance to get up close and personal with the busy bees.

Bee Wild Paradise Valley recently began public tours of its homegrown apiary, a term for beehive and honey bee keeping. Owner and beekeeper AnnaMarie Rutishauser says she currently maintains four beehives but has the supplies to build 10 more.

According to Rutishauser, more than 60,000 bees could occupy the hives in July, and there will be even more in August.

“When friends and family came to visit…they would love to see the bees and learn about the bees, and I just wanted to share that with our community,” Rutishauser said of starting the tours.

“I thought a lot of people would be interested in the interactions between the bees and how we as humans can help.”

On Saturday, interested customers can tour the apiary by booking online.

It costs about $25 per person, Rutishauser said, and free for children five and under.

“During the tours we talk about the different stages of the bee’s development and observe the inside of the hive. So get that hands-on, visual, tactile, sensory experience, where you smell the honey and feel the vibrations of bees,” she said.

For Rutishauser, starting the apiary was a bit of a coincidence.

Pleasant bees

“I started looking into permaculture and learning about the interactions between plants, animals and people and how we can mutually help each other,” she said. “One of the plants I planted was yellow clover and there were bees everywhere.”

When she saw that, she thought, “Let’s see how honey bees work in our garden.”

At first, Rutishauser said she honestly didn’t know anything about beekeeping.

“I got into it pretty quickly,” she said, laughing. “Luckily Gerald (Cote), my dance instructor, was once a professional beekeeper in Alberta, and he came in and showed me everything.”

“It just took off from there.”

Now, a few years later, in addition to the tours, Rutishauser also produces and sells honey, which when ready will be found at the Squamish Farmers’ Market, plus other markets in the Lower Mainland.

“Last year our honey production increased dramatically,” she said, adding that with just two beehives they harvested about 550 pounds or 250 kilograms of honey.

She said the success was largely due to the one-on-one coaching she received from Cote.

With the addition of two more beehives and the stock for even more, she hopes they can increase honey production and create more products, such as adding flavors to honey and candles. Rutishauser said the main honey harvest will take place between July and August.

To learn more about the apiary or book a tour, visit beewildparadisevalley.ca.

Also check out The Squamish Chief’s apiary TikTok.

‘Squamish business beat’ is a new series created in response to feedback from locals wanting to see more business news. With this beat, we’ll cover brand new, independent business openings and closings, among other business-related topics, as our time and resources allow. To be considered for this series, please email [email protected].