About Chris's Honey Yard

Hello I’m Chris Bright. I became a beekeeper in order to solve my family’s ongoing health problems, all of which were related to allergies. After doing some basic research, I became aware of honey and how it was a therapy for many disorders. I became more interested in honey and learned the all important difference between raw unprocessed honey and the processed variety that is found in the supermarket—honey that’s available to the populace as a whole.

After locating beekeepers in my area I bought natural unprocessed honey and embarked on a health program that would prominently feature honey and successfully rid me and my family of allergies and the Candidias Albicans yeast.

For the past ten years I have operated a fifty colony apiary as a producer packer. I started in 1989, with six colonies. Two years later, when I had fifty colonies, the Varroa mite arrived in British Columbia. The Varroa mite became an increasing challenge to beekeepers. The industry was only just coming to terms with the Tracheal mite and with the damage done by the Varroa mite many beekeepers simply gave up. I persevered and with a small number of colonies managed to stay in the game and increase my understanding of bee hive management.

My goal has been to maximize production from a small number of properly managed colonies rather than a larger number of poorly managed hives. To this end, my family and I raise our own queens and feed our bees from their own production. Whenever possible we use only organic methods to control pests or diseases. We do not engage in pollination services and our honey source is wild flower only, this avoids chemical contamination.

I have studied beekeeping at home, hands on, with much help and support from my local bee club, an affiliate of The British Columbia Honey Producers Association. Our local beekeepers are priviledged to have the full support of the provincial Department of Agriculture and in particular the Provincial Apiarist Paul van Westendorp.

While studying honey, I read the great American apitherapist, Dr. Bodog Beck. In his book, Honey and Your Health, he states that if honey is to be effective, it needs to be pure. I realized that I could only guarantee purity if I raised bees and harvested my own product. So driven by my belief in bees, I bought them and set out to learn the art of beekeeping. I joined the American Apitherapy Society and did further research into healing with honey, pollen, royal jelly and bee venom. I bought property on a busy road and engaged in farm gate sales of my honey and honey of other beekeepers. In so doing, I became a small time broker in the process.