They Keep Bees Queen School

Partnership & Grantee Highlights

They Keep Bees Queen School

Creating a network of budding professional beekeepers to collaborate and thrive

Queen School is a project of They Keep Bees initially funded by a NESARE grant. Queen School is an opportunity for beekeepers to connect and learn about raising queen bees. It’s an accessible space for beekeepers to connect across differences through hands-on learning, with honeybees as a common denominator. Queen School prioritizes the enrollment of QT & BIPOC participants (minimum of 55%), and offers robust scholarships, travel stipends and childcare to participants who need support.

In 2023, the One Hive Foundation provided supplemental funding which allowed Queen School to offer more robust scholarships to QT & BIPOC students who are traveling from as far as Maryland, Texas and Michigan to learn. The funding also allowed Queen School to hire collaborators Melanie Kirby, Megan Mahoney, and Julia Mahood from the ABBA network to offer their expertise to students and pay for both their travel and wages. Support from One Hive also allowed the team to step into leading Queen School without simultaneously operating a community fundraiser.