We are a new generation of beekeepers.

Backland is a seasonal garden and educational apiary in upstate NY. Our work envisions a future where apiary practices are decentralized by a new generation of beekeepers. We host an annual beekeeping gathering dedicated to redistributing resources and peer support among Black beekeepers, Indigenous beekeepers, and beekeepers of color.

We decentralize & diversify.

Western beekeeping arrived with colonizers and has typically been passed on for generations. Beekeeping courses often uphold an industrial approach which promotes greed and exploitation by over-harvesting honey and capitalizing on monocrop pollination services. Backland seeks sustainable solutions for the colony collapse disorder of today by fostering new perspectives of regeneration and resilience. We are imaginative beekeepers. We diversify pollinator diets, beehive designs, and harvest practices to reform the human relationship with the Honey bee.

Support our mission!

• Tell a friend!

• Buy a “Thank You” shirt.

• Make a donation.

Backland NY is featured on the Reparations Map organized by the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust. Check out the map and consider making a donation to Black-Indigenous land projects like ours.