Ever wondered what itās like to keep beesāwithout, you know, actually keeping bees? Thatās exactly what weāre about to find out thanks to Happy Hive Bee Co.ās Adopt-a-Hive Program, and weāre bringing you along for the ride!
This year, weāre officially the proud owners of our very own hive at Happy Hive Bee Co. And over the coming months, weāll be sharing what itās like to follow the journey of our beesāfrom their first buzz to their sweet golden harvest.
Thanks to Happy Hive Bee Co. for giving us a hive this year so we could share this experience with our readers.
What Is the Adopt-a-Hive Program?
Happy Hive Bee Co. has a passion for education, bringing the experience of keeping bees and the wonder of the honeybee to others. Their Adopt-a-Hive Program gives families (like yours!) the chance to support local pollinators and experience beekeeping from the comfort of home.
Hereās how it works:
- You sponsor a hive in the Happy Hive apiary.
- You get monthly updates with photos, videos, and stories from your unique hive.
- You receive honey from your very own bees at the end of the season.
- Youāre invited to a pollinator picnic and hive visit, where you can suit up and see your bees in action!
Yes, you can actually visit your hive in personāand thereās even lunch involved.
Why It Matters
Pollinators are in trouble. Bees play a huge role in our food system and environment, but their numbers are dropping. Adopting a hive is an easy (and super fun) way for families to get involved, without actually maintaining hives themselves.
Your sponsorship supports real, local pollinator careāand your kids get to learn about science, sustainability, and teamwork from the bees themselves.
Bonus fun fact: Beekeepers mark queen bees to help spot them quickly in a busy hive. This yearās queen color is blue.
See, weāre learning things already!
What Youāll Get When You Adopt-A-Hive
When you adopt a hive, hereās whatās included:
- š¼ A full year of educational updates from your hive
- š¹ Quarterly videos to share with your kids or classroom
- šÆ A share of the honey at harvest time (12 jars)
- š§ŗ A picnic and hive visit in the spring or summer
- š And lots of bee facts, fun, and inspiration
You can check out all the program details and adopt your own hive on their website:
š Happy Hive Bee Co. Adopt-a-Hive
Hereās How Our Adopt-A-Hive Experience Went!
From the first days of the hive, to our hands-on hive visit, and our honey harvest, we loved our year of Adopt-a-Hive with Happy Hive.
First, we got a chance to paint the outside of our beesā new home.
Second, we asked all of you to suggest a name for our Queen Bee. You all came up with some pretty good names, but one stuck: Queen BEEyonce.
Then, we started getting updates from Happy Hive about our bees! Scroll down to check out a few of the videos.
In this video:
BEEYonce gets her special blue queen dot- We learn about a honey bee parasite- mites!
- We watch bees bringing pollen and packing cells
In this video update below youāll see our baby bees.
In this video, our hive gets a new box.
When does a beekeeper need to add a new box? Timing is crucial! But donāt take our word for it. The beekeepers at Happy Hive Bee Co can explain it much better. Watch below to learn more!
Then in May 2026: We visited the hive!
We got to visit our beehive for a Hive Experience at Happy Hive, and it was fabulous!
Check out the whole thing: Our trip to Happy Hive Bee Co.
Finally, Wow! Look at the Honey Harvest
Honey delivery day was a great day!! I came home, and there waiting on my porch was a honey delivery. Inside, I found 12 jars of honey.
