Black Bear Creek Farms | Saddle Hills County, AB
Sometimes you don’t find your calling—sometimes your calling finds you. Michael and April De Vuyst did not plan to become beekeepers making regular, flavoured, raw and unpasteurized honey. Perhaps, it was their destiny.
After purchasing property near Bay Tree in Saddle Hills County, April started looking at different ways she could utilize her land. While searching online, videos about bees consistently popped up, which sparked her interest. So, she suggested it to her husband.
“I never thought in a million years we would have bees,” said Michael. “We had no prior experience with them, but I was intrigued, and we decided to go for it.”
In 2018, they started Black Bear Creek Farms, which consisted of two hives they purchased from people they knew. Local friends gave them a crash course on beekeeping, and during their first year they learned the ins and outs on the fly.
Thanks to YouTube and other online resources, the De Vuysts were able to grow their business tremendously by their third year in operation.
“I found other Canadian beekeepers online and learned from them, which helped us expand,” said Michael. “The connectedness you feel while beekeeping is amazing. It’s easy to get addicted to it. There’s something about this job that makes you want to learn more.”
Extracting, making, storing and selling locally-made honey creations is no easy feat. The process is often tedious. After investing in an extraction line, they are now able to extract honey from 100 boxes in eight hours—compared to the 16 boxes in 16 hours they were previously doing.
“We jar the raw honey directly after extraction. We purchased a jarring machine to improve production, which helps, but everything takes time,” said Michael.
For their flavoured honey, April uses freeze dried fruits that she turns into powder and then whips into their honey. Using a larger mixer allows her to keep the flavouring consistent. Currently, she mixes 12 cups of honey at a time.
“We make a wide variety of flavours including raspberry, lemon, cinnamon, blueberry, blackberry, chocolate—which we love in our coffee every morning—pumpkin spice, coconut and more,” said April.
Keeping their flavours natural is key, so April takes her time to perfect her recipes and ensures everything stays—and tastes—up to code.
“For our lavender infused honey, I use dried, organic lavender that I leave in the honey for three weeks and then sift out,” said April. “I also make hot honey with dried sriracha peppers because if you add more moisture to honey it will ferment, so powders keep it shelf stable and make it last longer.”
Fine tuning their operations and skills has taken time, and although they are always learning and perfecting their business, challenges still appear at each stage of growth. For example, as they continue to expand their apiary, finding the time and labour to support it has been tricky.
“We’ve grown from two to 100 brood hives, and it’s just the two of us,” said Michael. “So, it’s long days for both of us.”
Weather can be a challenge, too. Dry years produce more wasps, which affect production, and wet years make it difficult for the bees to pollinate. But, the De Vuyst team do not let these things get them down.
“Each day is a chance to learn something new,” said April. “We are the kind of people who figure it out, and we don’t dwell on anything for long.”
Expansion is always on their mind, and the duo are looking forward to eventually bringing on extra help and finding new ways to incorporate their honey into products.
“Our goal is to have more hives, offer more products, create new flavours and finalize our website,” said April.
Black Bear Creek Farms honey is available in a wide variety of sizes and flavours. Customers can purchase regular honey in 16 oz. jars for $16 or in 2.25L honey buckets for $45.
Flavoured honey can be purchased in 8 oz. jars for $16, but during the holiday season, more options are available.
“For Christmas we create bundles of three, 4 oz. jars of flavoured honey because they make excellent gifts,” said April. “Plus, this year we are planning to do a 12 Days of Christmas promotion, where you can buy 12 different flavours in a gift box.”
People can also reach out to the husband-and-wife team for custom creations.
“We can do custom jars and labels for specific gatherings such as weddings or community events,” said April.
Starting a new venture can be daunting, but the De Vuysts want others to know that if you don’t try, it will never happen, which is exactly how they found their calling for beekeeping.
“Just do it. Don’t second guess yourself about what your passion is,” said April. “When you’re truly passionate, people recognize that, and they will want to buy your product and learn more about you.”
The De Vuysts work hard to accommodate their customers. People can buy directly from them at markets, ask for local pickups or visit stores that stock their honey such as the Bay Tree Store, Vintage and Restoration Love in Dawson Creek, Inner Sage Therapies in Chetwynd and Fields of Wheat in Grande Prairie.
“We also ship across Canada. We’ve sent honey to Vancouver and even to Ontario,” said Michael. “Everyone wants a taste of home.”
Find Black Bear Creek Farms on Facebook and Instagram.
Words by Dani Wearden | North Seas Photography and Submitted
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