Please Help me Rebuild and secure my Beekeeping career.

A devastating bee disease has wiped out most of my livelihood – I need your help to rebuild and get through this season without income.

Help Me Save My Bees and Rebuild After Devastating Loss

This past Thursday was one of the hardest days of my life. Having been a bee keeper for the best part of 12 years in west Yorkshire, I was told by The National Beekeeping Inspectors that at least 3 of my hives in Halifax, were infected with not just European Foulbrood, but the far more devastating American Foulbrood – a deadly, incurable disease that wipes out entire colonies.

As a beekeeper, hearing those words felt like a nightmare. American Foulbrood can’t be treated. The only way to stop it spreading is to destroy the infected hives completely. That task fell to me. At dusk, I had to seal my bees inside and pour petrol into their hives and seal them, ready for burning. It was quick, but the thirty to forty seconds of chaos and distress per hive will stay with me forever. To hear and witness the end of colonies I’ve nurtured and cared for broke my heart.

I didn’t sleep that night, and honestly, I don’t know how I will in the weeks ahead. Every hive I own now needs to be checked, and there’s a very real risk that a lot more of them are infected. This is something no beekeeper ever wants to face – it feels like watching years of dedication, hard work, and love collapse in front of you.

On top of the emotional toll, this has left me in a desperate financial situation. To eradicate all traces of disease, I must replace every frame and wax foundation by spring. With around 50 colonies, the cost of replacing the frames alone is at least £3,000. For someone self-employed and on a low income, that’s overwhelming. And with no honey harvest this year and no wax for candles, I’ve also lost my main source of income. This means the coming months will be extremely difficult, not just for rebuilding the hives but also for keeping afloat personally until my bees can recover.

I love my bees. They are my life’s work, my passion, and my livelihood. I love to pass this passion on by teaching other people, especially young people, all about bee keeping using my teaching and observation hives Losing them is devastating – not just for me, but for some of the pollination and nature they support around us.

That’s why I’m here, humbly asking for help. Some friends suggested I start this GoFundMe, and though it’s hard to ask, I know I can’t do this alone.

How Can You Help?

Every donation, no matter the size, will go directly toward replacing frames, any hive losses and wax foundations and supporting me whilst I do this.

£60–£100 will help with covering the cost of one colony.

£10,000 will allow me to safeguard all 50 colonies, get through this season without income, and rebuild my beekeeping future any lost colonies and efforts.

If you’ve ever enjoyed local honey, care about honeybees or simply want to help someone rebuild after a crushing blow – please consider donating. Even the smallest amount will make a real difference.

If you can help by Donating or sharing this page with your friends, family, and community. Together, you can help me save my beekeeping stocks whilst helping support me through this difficult season, rebuild what I’ve lost, and secure the future of my Beekeeper Teaching and Craft.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading, for caring, and for helping me give my beekeeping career a chance to thrive again.