Princeton & Delta, British Columbia
Happy, Healthy, Heavy — working together, they make Harmony.
I’m Mark Vanderende. I keep bees the 4H Natural Way. The bees share the surplus, and I invite families, businesses and new beekeepers to learn alongside the amazing honeybee — and to find, in that attention, a higher awareness of nature.
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From the apiary
Bee Health & Research
Can controlled heat suppress Varroa without adding a miticide? A closer look at thermotherapy, brood and reproductive risks, misleading percentages and careful observation in a natural apiary.
4H Method
A healthy colony can shoulder real cold. What it cannot survive is a wet hive. How to winter with heavy natural stores, a respected propolis envelope and dry air — and why the bees' own preparations matter more than ours.
4H Method
Collect only what the bees can spare. Why carefully gathered pollen fits the 4H closed-loop apiary, how to protect the colony’s food, and where commercial patties still have a place.
What is the 4H Method?
4H stands for Happy, Healthy, Heavy and Harmony. It is Mark’s way of natural, treatment-free beekeeping: four guiding principles for understanding bees, caring for them and living more attentively alongside nature.
Pillar I
Calm colonies. Natural behaviours. Less disturbance, purposeful care.
Pillar II
Pollen nourishes growing bees. Sound brood and health checked with care.
Pillar III
Keep winter honey and brood-side pollen. Share only honey the bees can spare.
Pillar IV
Follow local blooms, pollen and weather. Grow within the land’s limits.
Learn to build your own hive woodware, protect natural comb, collect pollen responsibly, raise queens and keep useful records. Connect these skills with colony nutrition, seasonal growth, winter preparation and personal reflection. Beginners build a foundation; experienced keepers learn to bring the whole apiary together.
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Connect • Explore • Sustain
$200 · $250 · $350 / year
Name a hive, enjoy an included two-hour family bee visit with Mark and follow the season. One shared experience, three honey shares. Twelve family hives; interest open through March 2027.
Explore family adoptionCustom partnerships from $1,000
Multiple hives, employee honey rewards, team learning days or an idea of your own. Meet Mark and shape a partnership together.
Explore business adoptionTwo hours · $25 youth · $35 adults · $75 family
Two-hour workshops: $25 youth/students, $35 adults, $75 family (up to two adults and two children). An accompanying guardian joins free. Twelve-session passes: $250 youth/students, $350 adults.
See prices & sign upFree online lessons · Visits booked separately
Learn online for free, visit Mark at the apiary, or invite him to your classroom. Short lessons, real bees and time to explore nature together.
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Honey & handmade salves
Raw honey in bare Mason glass, with the story on the lid. Botanical salves made for everyday life outdoors.
All 2026 honey is sold out. The way to reserve 2027 honey is to adopt a family hive — same honey value, plus a season your family shares with the bees.
Keep your jar. Save $2 on a refill.
Refills are also sold out for 2026. Keep your jar for next season’s refill offer. 750 ml Mason Jar (1 kg) refill: $23 · Quart Mason Jar (3 lb) refill: $33.
Save $2 per reused jar. New-jar prices stay the same.
Shieling Farms Botanicals
Promotes skin repair
A botanical salve from Shieling Farms Botanicals, made with yarrow, plantain and calendula.
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Where I keep bees
Dry benches, sage, alfalfa and wild clover shape the interior harvest.
Farm flowers, gardens and the coastal landscape bring a different season of forage.
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Meet Mark
I’m Mark Vanderende, Master Beekeeper. Teaching families and the next generation is part of the work, whether we meet at the hive, in a classroom or at a team event. Have fun with your bees.
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A short brochure about the bees, the honey and ways to join in.
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