The Bee Journey
Fry Family Farm
Fry Family Farm
The Fry Family Farm Store sits just outside of Medford, Oregon. It offers a wide variety of organic produce, plants, flowers and other household products. Arrive early enough to get your hands on their popular new foods: farm-fresh pies, preserves and sauces. Need a delicious snack for the road? Make sure to try the farm favorite — mustard zucchini pickles.
Shastina Millwork
Shastina Millwork
Shastina Millwork lies just north of Medford in White City, Oregon. The mill produces bee hives that are the choice of discerning beekeepers all across the country. Whether you’re a commercial beekeeper or a walk-in hobbyist, you can leave with a top-quality box to get your hive started. Interested in how the boxes are made? Get a tour of the factory and witness an operation that keeps the bees a-buzzing.
Rascalville Farm
Rascalville Farm
This film was shot in mid-March. We chose this time because it’s prime bee pollination season, with most fruit trees in full bloom. Rascalville Farm, nestled in the Siskiyou Mountains, is where Sarah houses her bees. This scene shows a process many beekeepers go through during this time of year – gathering their bees and transporting them to farms to pollinate crops. More than 80 billion bees are needed for crop pollination in the state of California alone.
Frog Hollow Farm
Frog Hollow Farm
Frog Hollow Farm is a short, scenic drive east of San Francisco to the city of Brentwood, California. The organic farm is home to orchards full of beautiful blooming trees, which produce peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums, olives and much more. If you find yourself in the area on a Monday, book an orchard tour and participate in some hands-on activities. The aroma of fresh cherry blossoms paired with the taste of juicy California peaches make a farm visit well worth the trip.
The Bee Journey
Beekeeper Sarah Red-Laird drives her bees to the beautiful orchards of Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, California, to help pollinate plum trees. We follow her journey as she buzzes down from Ashland, Oregon, to meet Farmer Al Courchesne, a longtime organic farmer. They bond over the sweet taste of fresh honey and a shared passion for helping our planet.
Beekeeper Sarah Red-Laird
A lifelong fascination with bees results in a thriving business in Oregon.
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Farmer Al Courchesne
A papaya plantation dream in Hawaii leads to a flourishing organic farm in California.
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The (Food) People of Southern Oregon
Ashland, Oregon, is awash in farmers and makers and small-batch food entrepreneurs.
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1 / total Sarah has connected with bees since she was young. Here, she rests her hands peacefully on her bee friends. Photo by Kyle Repka
2 / total Sarah observes her hives as she prepares to suit up and check on the bees. Photo by Jay Zschunke
3 / total Sarah names each of her hives after queens like Elizabeth and Cleopatra. Each hive can have 30,000 workers and one queen. Photo by Jay Zschunke
4 / total Farmer Al and Sarah share stories while strolling through the Frog Hollow orchards. Photo by Jay Zschunke
5 / total In mid-March, Frog Hollow Farm’s plum trees bloom with beautiful white flowers that fill the air with a sweet, refreshing scent. Photo by Jay Zschunke
6 / total The bees inside each hive take on the personality of its queen bee, who is the mother of most, if not all, the bees. Photo by Jay Zschunke
7 / total Applying smoke interrupts the bees' defense reaction, allowing beekeepers to open the hive for inspection. Photo by Jay Zschunke
8 / total Farmer Al eagerly awaits a taste of fresh honey straight from the beehive. The flavor depends on the plants that bees gather nectar from. Photo by Jay Zschunke
9 / total A curious worker bee lands peacefully on Farmer Al’s hand before he and Sarah harvest fresh honey. Photo by Jay Zschunke
10 / total Sarah collects, packages and sells her raw wildflower honey. Profits go directly toward bee education and habitat conservation. Photo by Jay Zschunke
11 / total As seen from Frog Hollow Farm, the sun sets over Mount Diablo, whose name is derived from reports of hauntings and local folklore. Photo by Jay Zschunke
How to Be a Friend to Bees
Beekeeper Sarah Red-Laird shares a few simple things we can do to help.
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