鈥淲hen I retire, they鈥檒l probably just throw me in a bee box and send me off to sea,鈥� laughs Steve Gourley, a self-taught beekeeper. 鈥淚 just love it. It caught me the first day I did it.鈥�
Gourley, owner of Goldstrike Honeybee Company at Squamish Farmers鈥� Market, started keeping bees eight years ago when his parents 鈥� who are third generation farmers in Delta 鈥� decided to grow cranberries, which are pollinated by bees. 鈥淭here are so many cranberries grown in the valley though that it鈥檚 hard to find bees鈥� so we decided to make our own.鈥�
He went from 12 hives to 200 in four years; that鈥檚 approximately 8 million bees. Gourley runs the operation single-handedly. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a jack-of-all-trades when you鈥檙e a beekeeper,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a doctor, a nutritionist, a bookkeeper鈥︹��
It was his doctor/nutritionist side that first noticed something wasn鈥檛 right with his bees, prompting him to move his operation to Lillooet. 鈥淚n Vancouver there were just so many chemicals used on the berry crops that it was rough on them. My bees were having trouble鈥� so I decided to go after a cleaner crop,鈥� he says.
After feeding on 100 per cent organic alfalfa blossom, his bees bounced back within the year.
That being said, this time of year causes Steve the greatest worry. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 sleep that easy from now until March,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e gotten them through winter鈥� with 100 per cent success, but it鈥檚 this last month and a bit that鈥檚 the roughest on them.鈥�
As daytime temperatures warm, the bees believe spring is here and start to reproduce, he explains. But plummeting nighttime temperatures place a big demand on food stores, and with a growing brood there鈥檚 a risk they鈥檒l starve before winter is over.
To prevent this, Gourley drives from his home in Vancouver to Lillooet fortnightly to check his hives. 鈥淚 make sure everybody鈥檚 fine and, if I have to, emergency-feed them with a little excess honey just to get them through. I don鈥檛 want to lose them now.鈥�
Bears are another worry. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e enemy number one for a beekeeper,鈥� he says, noting bears can destroy hives with ease. 鈥淚鈥檇 lose all of my production from those hives for the season. That鈥檚 a big hit. It takes me from making surplus honey to just making enough to survive.鈥�
And then there are bee stings. 鈥淚 get stung every day. It鈥檚 part of the job鈥� but I鈥檓 totally immune now. I鈥檝e been stung up to 50 times in one day and it doesn鈥檛 bother me.鈥�
Despite sleepless nights, bear threats and multiple bee stings, Gourley wouldn鈥檛 do anything else.
Gourley sells Goldstrike Honey through Nesters, On the Farm Country Market and at Squamish Farmers鈥� Market, held every two weeks at Squamish Elementary School, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The next market will be held Feb. 7.
