Meet

Your Instructors

Where fun & education collide

JULIA COMMON, BSc & MSc Agriculture, Owner of Bees Actually, former Chief Beekeeper of Hives for Humanity

Julia Common is a BCHPA certified instructor, the BC Regional Director of the Western Apicultural Society, and a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturalists.  Julia has been involved in beekeeping since her university days. What started as a summer job became first a hobby and later a career. From 2012 through to 2019 she acted as Chief Beekeeper for Vancouver-based society Hives for Humanity, which she co-founded along with her daughter Sarah Common.

Urban beekeeping has led her to a number of epiphanies concerning the health and welfare of both bees and humans. She’s passionate about bees, teaching & life, and her courses stress the basic concepts of individual and colony biology, demonstrating how an understanding of these fundamentals can become the cornerstone of practical apiary management.

Since her retirement from Hives for Humanity, Julia has turned her focus to bee health and research through her new endeavour Bees Actually, started in 2020.

Brian Campbell, 

Founder of Blessed Bee Apiaries & the Bee School, Instructor at Langara & Kwantlen University. 

Brian Campbell is a certified  Master Beekeeper and Master Gardener. He has kept bees for over 20 years and has extensive experience teaching beekeeping to people of all ages.  Currently Brian is the Beeologist in Residence at the UBC Botanical Garden where he conducts research on bee/plant relationships, a sessional instructor with the KPU Farm School program and Product Manager at West Coast Seeds.  

Brian is also known for his efforts in pollinator conservation and education. He has been involved with VanDusen Gardens for over 15 years, leading many workshops and guided tours on native pollinators. Brian has also been a consultant for Border Free Bees in their design of pollinator friendly pastures and has designed many of the pollinator Seed Blends that  are offered at West Coast Seeds.

Brian is widely recognized as a wellspring of knowledge on bees and beekeeping, for his dynamic and entertaining presentations, and for his extensive contributions to the BC beekeeping culture through education and mentorship.