Now announcing Swarm Bootcamp!
A one-on-one intensive apprenticeship rooted in the living season
Swarm Bootcamp is a week of living close to the land during the height of bee season. You’ll stay in my earthen home and move through my real, day-to-day beekeeping life—responding to what the bees and the weather ask for each day.
There is no set schedule. Some days are full and fast. Others are quiet and preparatory. We gather swarms when they appear, tend existing hives, and build welcoming homes for bees who have not yet arrived.
You’ll learn by doing—lifting boxes, preparing equipment, driving to calls, waiting when waiting is required, and noticing when the moment is right.
What’s Included
* One week stay (minimum 4 days of intensive, one-on-one shadowing)
* Private bedroom + bath in an earthen home
* Daily breakfast + lunch supplies
* Airport shuttle to and from
* A small gift bundle
* One Bee Oracle Session to open the week
Available Sessions
* April 16–22
* May 16-22
* June 2–8
Learn more via the link in bio 🐝❤️
I want to share a favorite scene from the working footage for @amritadocumentary as my plane taxis before taking off for the Yucatán, where we are filming our third focus: the Maya Melipona Bees
if you have followed along my @soundfoodspace journey you may know that I’ve been diving deeply into the healing properties of bee venom this year
Under @katehinkens guidance I have been studying how stinging along meridians can have a dramatically beneficial impact on human health, lower inflammation, and in some cases reverse chronic disease
Bee venom is one of those rare beneficial compounds that can actually cross the blood brain barrier and be a force for healing, the medicinal potential is wild !!!
however, the most difficult part for me in studying sting therapy has been taking the bee’s life ( Kate instructs us to use bees that are in their last cycle of life but still… It is tragic)
So when I watched this scene of the beekeepers in the Alentejo valley of Portugal who are so attuned to the bees, who gratefully receive the medicine of the venom and then cheer the honey bees on, trusting that they will survive, my whole heart melted!!!
This is the way.
To me, this singular moment represents a whole new / ancient paradigm of being with nature ❤️ deep reverence to Annelieke Van der Sluijs, Sandira Belia, Ulrike Krampen and all the women from the BeeWisdom Network in Portugal and deepest bow to filmmaker Onyx @thebeeoracle for so artfully capturing this radically beautiful example of symbiosis
honored to be on this journey to help steward and shepherd this film with all of you goddesses 🐝🫶🏻🎞️
OK we are taking off now, onwards 🚀🇲🇽🍯🫶🏻✨
to learn about this documentary film + ways you can support our continued production >> find the 🔗 in bio
#bees #beevenomtherapy #medicine #hive #love #gratitude #Amrita
Film Update🎥
We’re thrilled to share our new trailer for @amritadocumentary — now featuring never-before-seen footage from our time filming in the Yucatán with the incredible Mayan family behind Jardín Alak. 🌿🐝
We have been deep in editing mode, and are now launching a crowdfunding rally to raise $65K to complete film production by next Spring— in this moment we desperately need our community’s to help raise $8K to get our crew to Crete this August — to document the mythical bee caves of the mediterranean. 🌊
If our story resonates with you, please support us by
1) sharing this post
2) tag a loved one who may be interested in learning about regeneration through beekeeping
3) donate what you can to the campaign, even $1 helps get us closer to Crete next month (link in bio)
✨ We’ve also just added some beautiful new rewards — including a limited-edition propolis-infused incense (crafted with the same blend used by the BeeWisdom Network in Portugal), paired with a small jar of honey from our director Onyx’s bees in Oregon. She never sells her honey, so this is a rare and special offering.
Every share and every contribution helps us bring this vision to life.⚡️
Thank you for being on this journey with us. 🐝💛✨🍯
#bees #womenbeekeepers #honeybee #beekeeping #naturalbeekeeping #indigenouswisdom #regeneration
Portland! JOIN US for an evening celebrating our precious pollinators on June 6th!
We are collaborating with our friends from the @portlandnightmarket and @beebuiltsupply to raise funds to complete @amritadocumentary , a film documenting regenerative women beekeepers around the globe 🐝
The event will open with a film screening (featuring never before seen footage from Hawaii), talk with the director followed by time for Q+A (ticketed)
Following the screening there will be a FREE afterparty where you can sip bee theme cocktails, as well as engage in various bee activations (make wildflower seed bombs, honey tasting, raffle + more!)
Come have a cute time with us and support a great cause! LINK IN BIO TO RSVP ❤️
Don’t miss our next Bee Church gathering!
✨Sunday May 24th from 4-6:30pm✨
Once again we will gather in the garden to deepen our connection to the bees, this time diving into the medicine of pollen
Pollen is abundantly flowing into all of the hives this time of year as it is food for the young bees, and newly mated queens are building up the hive laying lots of eggs! It’s one of the most enchanting things to gaze at the bees laden with pollen pants tumbling back to the hive, occasionally taking a moment to rest before making their way inside the nest.
There’s so much more I could share about this incredible substance, its cultural significance, as well as the energetic/physical medicinal qualities it carries for us as human beings but I will save that for our gathering.
As always our flow will begin with observing the hives in meditation, followed by an intuitive exploration of pollen utilizing essence therapy and sound. We’ll close with honey cake, a seasonal herbal elixir, and a pollen lecture. Everyone will receive the essence of pollen to take home and work with over the following weeks!
May you arrive softly and be nourished ⛲️
Tickets available via link in bio
25 swarms in two weeks is definitely a new record for me!
And with that dear community, I humbly am asking for your help to connect me with more homes to house these sweet gals 🐝
The bees that I am rehoming have very special feral genetics that I have been tracking over many generations. These bees know exactly how to thrive without any kind of chemical or organic treatments for mites; a rarity in this day and age. For this reason, I am very picky about where they land and call home!
I have about five empty hives left, and will likely fill those by the end of the week if things continue at this pace. With at least 6 weeks left of swarm season, that means I need to find 30 to 40 more places for these bees to land!
If you or anyone you know might be interested in adopting one of these really special swarms, you can learn more about the process via the link in my bio! (The bees and hive are NOT free please read through the whole link!)
If you do not have capacity to host a hive but still want to help, I’m collecting donations to support bringing these bees to folks that have habitat but are lacking the funds to cover the adoption fee - simply Venmo @thebeeoracle with the line ‘Swarm Scholarship’ 🙏🌹🐝
Truly, any help in spreading the word is much appreciated! Let’s make sure these bees end up in a good place ❤️❤️❤️
xx
Onyx
The equinox sale on my regenerative beekeeping training ends tomorrow (March 27th)! This is a fully virtual, self paced offering that guides you through an entire year of tending bees regeneratively.
No chemicals or organic treatments. No killing and replacing your queen every year. No plastic. No stressful hive manipulations. Simply supporting the bees to be bees as nature intended!
These are practices I’ve cultivated and implemented successfully over the past 10 years, that give me 90-100% survival rates each winter. This is pretty radical when we contrast with commercial beekeepers that are now losing about 60% of their colonies each year!
This program is completely comprehensive, and even includes a 1:1 with me ❤️
• 40+ instructional videos
• 33 podcast recs
• 1:1 call with yours truly for personalized support
• additional reading list/resources
• access to the alumni telegram group to connect with likeminded community
Link in bio to claim that sale price 🍯
What if the mess is the point?
We had Onyx Baird (@thebeeoracle ), beekeeper, documentary filmmaker, and founder of Feral Honey on the podcast this week.
Onyx spent years traveling the world learning how different cultures keep bees. She came back with a different story than the one commercial beekeeping tells.
Bees have survived 120 million years. Industrial beekeeping is 160 years old and killed 70% of US colonies in 2024.
Wild bees? Still thriving.
They evolved 600 DNA changes to cope with varroa mites while commercial bees evolved nothing.
The solution isn’t more chemicals or better boxes. It’s planting medicinal herbs like thyme and lavender.
It’s leaving your garden a little wild. It’s understanding that one hive needs 1 million blossoms and that messy edges are where pollinators actually live.
This episode is for designers speccing pollinator gardens, contractors installing native habitat, and anyone wanting to create spaces that support diversity.
Episode 6 with Onyx Baird on regenerative beekeeping, bloom choreography, and why messiness is good for life.
Listen to the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Link in bio.
Photo Credit: @kristinelliss
#nativebees #pollinatorhabitat #regenerativedesign #gardens #sustainabledesign
@amritadocumentary film update from Hawaii!
My heart is humming with gratitude as I prepare to return home to Oregon today after spending the last 3 months boots on the ground in Hawaii, gathering the last pieces of footage we need to wrap this location.
When I return I’ll be meeting up with my new editor to begin shaping the story of the film! We’ll be editing a new fundraising piece to help us gather funds to support post production 🙌
So excited to share more with you all soon ❤️ thank you endlessly to everyone who has supported us over the years, this is truly a marathon and we couldn’t have gotten this far without you!
Our crowdfunding campaign is still live with lovely rewards available, all funds going towards supporting post production. If you could continue to share we would be so grateful!
In reverence to the bees and all they offer us 🙏🐝🍯
xx
Onyx
Just because you’re a beekeeper does not inherently mean you are helping the bees - listen to find out why 🐝
Link in bio to learn more about my training on Regenerative Beekeeping, where we unlearn everything taught to us by the industrial agricultural complex and pave a new way forward that supports the bees from the inside out.
📸@kristinelliss
#savethebees #beekeeping #naturalbeekeeping #regenerative #bees
An ode to 2025
The year I caught 36 swarms, moved into my dream home, birthed Bee Church, became a bunny mama for a brief moment to the sweetest Mr Pancakes 🥞🐰 (I’ll love u 4ever 😭), and created art I’m very proud of with some of my favorite people 💕
I look back and am blown away by everything that has shifted, blossomed and transformed - truly was the year of the snake
Looking forward to the fire horse and what 2026 has in store 🙏
so delighted to finally host onyx, @thebeeoracle , for the sweetest ever event —
please join us next sunday afternoon for a two-hour bee church offering centered around BEESWAX 🐝
this journey will include:
— a guided bee meditation,
— an exploration of beeswax both sensorially and energetically,
— a guided sound journey centered around the vibrations and frequencies of bees,
— a closing circle for reflection and sharing, with a short talk on wax,
— a take-home gift to deepen your connection with the medicine of the hive.
🍯 $50-$65 sliding scale, hope to see ya there 🍯
