Q. As a beekeeper at Tahi, how would you describe the connection between the bees, the land, and the wider ecosystem here?

A. At Tahi, bees aren’t just pollinators, they’re part of a living system that we’ve spent two decades rebuilding from the ground up. This land used to be stripped bare. Now, thanks to our regeneration efforts, it’s a functioning ecosystem again.

The bees are critical to that. They move through it all, pollinating, connecting the dots. We don’t treat them like a commodity. We manage the hives in a way that respects the natural rhythms of the environment. We don’t use pollen traps or collect venom. We leave them with their own honey through winter, because that’s what they’re meant to eat. It’s slower, but smarter. You get healthier bees, and better honey. The kind that actually reflects the land it comes from.

Q. Tahi isn’t just about honey, it’s about restoring biodiversity and giving back to the land. How does that mission influence the way you work, and why does it matter?

A. That mission is the whole point. At Tahi, everything is driven by the idea that land and business should work in sync -not at odds. We’re not trying to squeeze the most out of the land. We’re putting more back in.

That shows up in how we plan our hive placements, how we work around native flowering cycles, and how we avoid stressing the system, because it’s not just about the bees, it’s about the whole landscape functioning well.It means the work feels real. Tangible. It’s not about abstract ideas like “doing good,” it’s about results you can see in the soil, in the birdlife, in the health of the hives.

Q.You also run Tahi’s Bee Friends programme, which brings beekeeping into schools, why is that work so important to you?

A. Most kids today don't really have much contact with the natural world. Bee Friends changes that. We get them outside, suited up, standing next to a working hive, asking real questions. It changes everything.You can see the shift happen, kids go from scared to genuinely fascinated. They start to understand how something as small as a bee plays a massive role in our food systems and the health of the planet. We’re not just teaching them about bees, we’re giving them a reason to care.
Bee Friends is about building that understanding early, and making it exciting-not preachy.

Q. From your perspective, what makes Tahi honey truly special—and how does the way we care for our bees show up in every jar?

A.There’s a lot of honey out there, but not much like this. Tahi honey is made in a place where the bees are left to do what they’re supposed to do: forage in diverse landscapes full of native mānuka, kānuka, pōhutukawa and more. That variety shows up in the honey. It’s layered, strong, and has real character.
But what really sets it apart is how we operate. We don’t strip the hives clean. We don’t shortcut the process. We don’t interfere unless we have to. No pollen traps, no venom harvesting, no artificial feeding. Just bees, doing their job, in an environment that’s been rebuilt to support them.