Get Involved

Learn about apprenticeships, volunteer opportunities, and how to help us make an impact in service of the honeybee

What Can You Do?

Our mission of restoring the health and vitality of the honeybee has many layers. The honeybees are of course at the center of everything we do, and it is through our experiences with the bees that we bring forth our educational programs, research, volunteer opportunities, retreats, internships, plant sales, products, essentially every offering is deeply rooted in our relationship with the bees. And, by serving the bees, we also serve humanity. The honeybee sheds light on that which is asking for change in our cultures and societies if we are to continue to live and thrive on this planet earth. As Gunther Hauk has pointed out, “More than we can imagine depends on our ability to turn the crisis into an opportunity for change.”

Restoring health and vitality to our world is not only for beekeepers. Everyone has something to offer toward this mission and getting involved in our work here at the Sanctuary can take many forms.

For anyone wanting to help us make an impact, we invite you to:

Learn more about the honeybees by visiting us during Open Days
Share our work with your friends and colleagues through website and social media
Volunteer in our flower or vegetable gardens by filling out our intake form below!
Schedule a private sanctuary tour or interactive educational visit for your group (school group, book club, garden club, employee appreciation day)
Establish pollinator forage anywhere you have space, whether in flower pots or flower beds, in your vegetable garden, or in fallow fields between other plantings (we offer pollinator plants for sale during the Spring and Summer)
Schedule a donation-based consultation with our beekeeper or farmer for help expanding your beekeeping, gardening, or teaching related to pollinators and plants
Discontinue the use of pesticides and herbicides
Let your dandelions, clover, and other important wildflowers bloom
Share our locally made, sustainable bee products with your friends
Heighten your consumer awareness around products such as royal jelly, pollen, and honey
Help others learn about sustainable beekeeping by donating to our scholarship program
Support our work by donating to Spikenard Farm
Consider becoming a beekeeper!

For those who are new to our beekeeping methods:

Register for our educational programs which are offered online and in-person, with courses for beginners and beyond
Consider applying for our immersive 4-month apprenticeship to get hands-on experience within our sanctuary and farm setting
Read our newest beekeeping book by Alex Tuchman, A Lively Hive, to learn all the basics of sustainable beekeeping

We thank you in advance for your investment in the future of the earth and our life with the bees!

Apprenticeships

We are now accepting applications for the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 apprenticeship cohorts.

The Spikenard Apprenticeship is an experience-based opportunity to learn with the bees at our Honeybee Sanctuary. We are located on 41 acres in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains with 25-40 bee hives, many flower gardens, a vegetable patch, fields of blooming cover crops, orchard, woods, pastures and a little river.

The daily work of the Farm Manager and Apprentices is to tend to the farm. The farm work is very diverse and ranges from daily chores to long days implementing larger projects to general upkeep of planting, weeding and harvesting. The tasks for tending the honeybees are woven throughout the apprenticeship with time spent observing each hive, opening hives for health checks, catching and hiving swarms, a weekly mite count, and more.

In addition to the work on the land and with the bees, apprentices support and participate in the workshops held at the sanctuary throughout the summer. We also have a weekly meeting to dive deeper into the honeybee and insect realm of life, talk about beekeeping practices and have experiences with hive observation, meditation, and artistic work.

We work Monday-Friday 8-5 with a long lunch break, on the weekends we take turns being responsible for chores such as watering, opening and closing greenhouses and feeding the goats. Some weekends we have workshops and events at the farm that apprentices are expected to participate in.

The ideal apprentice has a strong work ethic, enjoys working outside every day, has a deep interest in the honeybees, an openness for exploring the spiritual aspects of life and nature, enthusiasm for community living and excitement for working closely with others as part of a team.

We now have a number of options for Apprenticeships:

Spring Cohort (March – June)

In the spring time the work with the honeybees includes catching and hiving swarms, doing spring health checks to see how the hives have come through the winter and expanding the hives as the nectar flow increases with the increased light and warmth from the sun. The work on the farm is focused on seeding and planting in the vegetable gardens, the flower gardens, and in our larger fields of cover crops. We also work on weeding, mulching, harvesting and drying herbs, and many other tasks to keep our beautiful sanctuary looking good.

Summer Cohort (June - August)

In the summer the work with honeybees includes catching and hiving swarms, and doing health checks on all the hives. The work on the farm includes planting in the vegetable gardens, the flower gardens, and in our larger fields of cover crops. We also work on weeding, mulching, harvesting and drying herbs, and building compost.

Fall Cohort (July – October)

In late summer and early fall the work with the honeybees is focused on attentive observation of each hive as we turn from the season of expansion to the season of contraction. Later in the summer the work is focused on preparation for winter with health checks, tightening up empty spaces, and wrapping and insulating for winter warmth. The work on the farm includes lots of harvest of vegetables and herbs and continued maintenance of the gardens and fields.

Full Season (March - October)

The full season apprenticeship embraces the full cycle of work at the Sanctuary, from working with swarms, to seasonal health checks, and settling the bees in for the winter. The work on the farm will start with stratifying and seeding, transplanting herbs and flowers, weeding, mulching, and end with harvesting produce and herbs for use in our kitchens and products. Spring, Summer, and Fall are distinct seasons here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, each bringing changes to the life and tasks here at the Sanctuary.

In exchange for your hard work and dedication we offer:

all the educational opportunities that are in session during the months of your apprenticeship
very good housing adjacent to the farm
a bag of vegetables from the garden each week
A monthly stipend of $300 for the duration of the apprenticeship

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer Opportunities at Spikenard Farm are scheduled on an individual basis by filling out this form and/or directly coordinating with one of the Spikenard staff. Volunteers will plug right into the daily work of the farm, either working with the gardener or with the team of apprentices and Farm Manager. Tasks range from planting, weeding, harvesting, to beekeeping, compost building, etc. Please come prepared with the things you need to work comfortably along with us (i.e. food, water bottle, hat, closed toed shoes and clothes that you can work in and get dirty). A full day experience (8am – 5pm) or half day (either 8-12 or 1:30-5) are available. Please indicate your preference on the volunteer intake form.

Please fill out volunteer intake form below. We will respond shortly with deep care and consideration:

*Please take special care in filling out this form in its entirety. You will be unable to save your information if you cannot complete the application in one sitting. We recommend writing your answers in an off-line document first. If you have any questions or needs during this process, please reach out to us. We look forward to meeting you!

Donate

Help us restore the health and vitality of the honeybee worldwide

Donate

Your heartfelt love for nature and the honeybees can find meaningful expression by contributing to Spikenard Farm. If you are inspired to help, PLEASE DONATE.

You may also write a check and mail it to:

Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary
401 Hideaway Lane SE
Floyd, VA 24091
540-745-2153

All donations are fully tax deductible.

We thank you in advance for your investment in the future of the earth and our life with the bees.