Partner with us as we raise $20,000 to save millions of bees in 2023
About Us
Conservation
One out of every three bites of food in the United States depends on honeybees and other pollinators. Honeybees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops each year, including more than 130 fruits and vegetables. Managed honeybees are important to American agriculture because they pollinate a wide variety of crops, contributing to food diversity, security, and profitability.
During the past 50 years, the number of managed honeybees has drastically declined. Each winter since 2006, about 30 percent of beehives collapsed due to disease, parasites, poor nutrition, pesticide exposure and other issues.
Bees in the Heart of Texas is committed to the conservation of the honeybee population in Texas. We partner with local beekeepers to rescue, remove, and rehabilitate bees that are in danger of being destroyed. Your financial support helps the elderly, single parents, and those in lower income brackets afford honeybee removal. All the profit from the sales of honey, T-shirts, and stickers supports this effort. Please consider giving and aiding in our effort to Save the Bees.
Education
Bees in the Heart of Texas knows our future beekeepers are today’s children. We are excited to offer educational presentations to interested groups. In-class demonstrations will allow students to meet a beekeeper and explore the fascinating world of honeybees and pollination. The demonstrations will include visual and interactive activities, such as viewing an observation high through glass windows, learning about the tools used in beekeeping, and tasting Organic, Raw, Unfiltered, Texas honey. Educational activities and games will allow students to understand honeybee biology and the important role of honeybee pollination. Activities are designed by grade level and are offered as a 45-minute presentation. Teachers may also request a subject focus. Advance booking required.
Community
Are you a beekeeper? Do you want to be a beekeeper? Then we invite you to join The Bexar Bee Club, The BBC. Our fellowship will be a community of beekeepers, bee havers, and those who want to support the conservation effort. It will be a safe place to learn and share. We will meet regularly to help support each other, share insights, express needs/opportunities, and raise money to help tomorrow’s beeks. The $25 annual dues will fund a yearly youth beekeeping scholarship program, give you access to purchase equipment, and sign you up for our newsletter.
Why Bexar?
An expedition led by Martin de Alarcón on May 5, 1718 founded the Spanish army garrison known as the presidio de San Antonio de Bejar. The name Béjar, or Béxar, is the name of a town in the Spanish province of Salamanca. The predominant and most probable answer is that the name Béjar is of very ancient Spanish origin. There is a recorded history of the existence of a culture known as the Betones or Vetones, which was likely to have been a remnant of the earlier ancient Celtic tribes which had passed through central Spain and eventually made their way to Ireland and Wales. Beekeeping was a known ancient occupation for producing a food source as well as for promoting agricultural pollination. It is theorized that as the language of the Betones blended in with the other languages, such as Latin, the word abeja eventually appeared, meaning bee. The theory is that somehow the word Béjar is the latest evolution of the word abeja. Spanish scholars reject this theory. The Spanish authorities, however, have long held the strong belief that this approach is the most likely explanation of the name’ s origin. The official crest of the city consists of a crown resting over a gold shield containing a blue field on which lie five bees. I think it’s safe to say that Bexar county was named after a town of beekeepers and that the name Bexar and the Spanish word for bees has shared roots.