Vancouver Island’s beekeeping community continues to grow, despite the effects of a host of issues that have driven down honey production considerably over the years
In five decades since Theo Fredrich started keeping bees at his acreage in Cedar, his honey production levels have fallen by more than half.
“There would be, 50 years ago, 200 pounds per colony was the norm. Today, we are struggling to get 50 to 100 pounds, so you have to change your operations accordingly,” Fredrich said.
The 82-year-old Cedar beekeeper is spry and lucid, which he attributes in part to the medicinal qualities of the pollen his bees collect — something he carefully infuses in tinctures that he uses daily and sells from his farm.