Backland NY is an educational apiary and seasonal garden in upstate New York. Our beekeeping practices center the survivability of managed hives through biomimicry of rewilded hives.

The Honey bee is believed to have originated in Asia, then migrated to the continents of Africa and Europe. In the 16th century, European colonialists imported this highly-valued sweetener-producing animal-friend throughout the coast of the Americas. Through the distribution of man-made hives, the honey bee adapted to this continent as rewilded western ecotypes.

Our beekeeping practices oppose industrial agriculture which centers human needs at any cost. We know that the pressures of the industrial complex causes great imbalances within an ecosystem. The expired perspectives of authority and control, of ownership and competition, of savior and greed keeps the soil, water, air, plants and all living things in an unstable loop of manipulation and treatment.

On the other hand, we know that wild ecosystems display a super-intelligence for resilience. In the same way, we regard the rewilded honey bee nest as the optimal example of their living conditions. So, if a beehive feeds themselves, builds immunity and reproduces brilliantly on their own: how can we renew our relationship to center reciprocity?

Backland NY educates biomimicry beekeepers.

We promote the unlearning of the savior-greed-control mentality of dominant agriculture and look toward harmony within the natural order. We center the survivability of the managed honey bee through sustainable practices like: swarm-baiting, top bar hives, beeswax foundations, minimal disruptions, overflow harvests, small population hives, regenerative land practices, small population hives, widely spaced hives and stationary bee yards.