This fundraiser will help cover the cost of replacing three bee colonies after we lost all of our bees last winter. I’ve shared a bit more about what happened below.

Donations can be made via Venmo or Cash App. Any amount truly helps and brings me closer to getting bees back into the hives this spring.

As a thank-you for a $25 donation, you can choose either a box of assorted chocolate bonbons or an XL hand-painted floral chocolate bar from our local micro-chocolaterie.

More details on how to donate are below.

Why we need your help

Here in Ballard—sometimes referred to by local beekeepers as the “Bee Death Zone”—honeybee colonies face unusually high pressure from Varroa mites and yellow jacket predation. As a result, even experienced beekeepers find they need to maintain two to three hives (“an heir and a spare”) just to ensure that at least one colony survives the winter.

A major challenge is that not all backyard beekeepers in the area are equipped to manage Varroa effectively. Many hobbyists just replace lost colonies each spring rather than implementing consistent mite control. Because honeybees forage over a wide area, mite loads don’t stay confined to a single yard—they spread across the neighborhoods, affecting well and poorly managed hives alike. Treatments help reduce mite levels, but eradication isn’t possible, only ongoing control. As colonies weaken under mite pressure, and their population naturally decreases over the summer (while wasp populations continue to grow), honey bees become increasingly vulnerable to yellow jacket predation in late summer and fall. These wasps target compromised and weakened hives, killing bees, consuming brood, and robbing honey stores, sometimes killing an entire bee colony in just hours.

That said, it is absolutely possible to keep healthy, thriving bees here with consistent mite management and good hive practices. Normally I am able to manage my hives quite successfully despite long-term health challenges that ended my career as a veterinarian. This is my fifth year keeping bees. I may be slower now than I used to be and I need strategies for moving heavy hive boxes, but I learned to work around my disabilities. I’m even working on my Journeyman Beekeeper certification, well hopefully.

However, last September I experienced a significant health setback and was not well enough during a critical window to keep up with the level of yellow jacket control needed. It was a heartbreaking fall and winter for us when we lost all of our hives, something that has not happened in years.

The experience has helped me refine a clearer plan going forward. The bees will be overwintered in a more protected location outside the “Death Zone”with friends, and I’ll be starting much earlier with yellow jacket trapping to catch queens in spring and reduce fall predation. I’ve also begun encouraging neighbors to participate in trapping, which can make a meaningful difference across the area over time. But I still face a major hurdle:

Replacing my colonies is a significant upfront cost, and this year, on my current limited budget, it’s simply beyond what I can manage on my own.

If you’re able to contribute, you’re not just helping replace lost bees—you’re helping rebuild a small neighborhood apiary with stronger practices in place for the future.

A Sweet Thank-You

We’d love to “sweeten the deal,” literally.

If you live within a 2–3 mile radius, supporting this fundraiser helps bring healthy pollinators back into your garden. But whether you’re nearby or not, for a $25 donation you can choose one of the following handcrafted treats from our micro-chocolaterie:

• Assorted Chocolate Bonbons
A box of hyperlocal flavors featuring homegrown organic herbs and berries—like Rosemary Raspberry, Strawberry Basil, and Crown Hill Mint—alongside favorites such as Yuzu Caramel, Hazelnut Coffee, Tiramisu, Earl Grey, and Gianduja. Not your average “box of chocolates.”

• XL Hand-Painted Floral Chocolate Bar (150 g / 5.3 oz)
A large chocolate bar decorated with edible luster-painted flowers—poppies, roses, and forget-me-nots—made from Callebaut white, milk, and semisweet couverture chocolate. It’s almost too pretty to eat (almost).

Porch Pickup Details

Your thank-you gift will be ready for pickup on Saturday, April 4 or April 25, between 12–4 PM.

Additional dates may be added, so stay tuned.

Please include your email when donating, along with your chocolate selection, so I can send a reminder with our Ballard address.