Un-Bee-Lievably inspirational beekeeper from Portsmouth raises money for charity by selling honey

James Wheeldon, based in Portsmouth, has discovered his passion for beekeeping after searching for a hobby following the lengthy Covid lockdown. During the pandemic, James and his family began exploring the world of foraging and the importance of the outdoors and obtaining a deeper understanding of wildlife. When the restrictions lifted, James decided that he wanted to give beekeeping a go - and his enthusiasm for the hobby has resulted in the launch of his new charity.

In 2023, James received his first Honeybee colony - and he became captivated by the way that bees live in a hive. He began sharing his beekeeping journey on social media and it was when the bees started to produce delicious honey that he realised that his hobby could be used for good. He wanted to use his platform and his bees to help charities across the globe and his new charity, Beekeeping For Hope was born.

In the space of a year, James has acquired ten hives in total and he has been completely devoted to the care of his bees. The father of two sells any honey produced by the bees and the proceeds all go to charities. James said: “It’s a charity that was established in February this year. So what we do is we get honey from our dedicated hives and the honey from that hive goes to a cause. We have a hive for Green Light Orphanage in Uganda, we have another hive dedicated to Hope4 in Ukraine and Moldova and we have one dedicated to Portsmouth community so when I’m out and about I’ll take some jars with me and if I see anyone that needs some honey, I’ll hand them out.”

James is extraordinarily passionate about bees and he has also began passing on his knowledge onto the next generation by teaching youngsters about the importance of beekeeping. He has beekeeping suits for children children to give them the opportunity to get up close with the bees - and his lessons have gone down a treat. He has also recently been given a grant by Hive Portsmouth to invest in a range of incredible props to enhance his teaching even further. James added: “I do treat them like a family so all of our queen’s have individual names, they all have individual personalities - some are a bit skitty, some are really calm and gentle but it is like looking after - I would say one hive is about 30,000 bees, boys and girls, so 30,000 children and a queen.

“My dream is to have my own bit of land with a teaching hut in the back - beehives all around outside- then inside of course, my house and my family - and next year we will start extracting honey again and getting children in to teach them.”

For more information about James’s charity, Beekeeping For Hope, click here.