In every issue, we delve into Bristol’s community to spotlight the unsung heroes in our midst. Choosing one hero per issue allows us to highlight the individuals who make Bristol so special. Anyway, we’ve cheated this issue and have picked 375,001: Christian Maass and his bees.

A champion of Darwinian beekeeping and a regular on the festival circuit, Christian and his Amazing Bees have built a name for themselves in the Southwest. Popping up next to stages all around the country, Christian pitches up at events everywhere to spread the word about the bees and reestablish healthy relationships between people and their environments. We visited him at one such event to find out more.

After meandering down some country lanes, we were welcomed into the Rainbow Summer Camp in the Forest of Dean to meet ‘the Beekeeper’. Though we were only slightly disappointed to see Christian had not donned his usual bee onesie, the promise of actual bees softened the blow. Eager to show us the site and introduce us to the hive, Christian led us through to his stall. A few campers stopped to say hello, excitedly asking if he was ‘the one with the bees.’

Standing in the corner of the tent is one of Christian’s ‘observation hives.’ About five foot tall, the wooden frame contains a sheet of honeycomb, protected by glass. Grabbing a camp chair, Christian encouraged us to take a seat in front of the hive screen to watch the bees as we chatted. The writhing mass of golden brown behind the glass was fascinating. Softening your gaze, they appear to move as a single amorphous unit – a shifting mass of amber. Focusing, it’s easy to get lost following the assured paths of these working bees; some groups diligently delivering pollen to the wax hexagons, some groups enveloping invading wasps and dragging them away. Looking closely, you can even see the skin of pupa – developing bees – emerging from the comb.

Christian is quick to point out that the bees are a single unit – a single organism. The bees cannot reproduce on their own, relying as a single entity upon the Queen and the drones as their sexual organs. The bees self-regulate and survive as a unit. The phrase ‘hive mind’ has never felt more appropriate. So where does Darwin come into it? Queens mate ‘on the wing’ and aren’t too fussy about their partners; any drone in a ten-mile radius will do. This means there is no separation between the genetics of feral and kept bees in local areas, and the genes of kept bees can affect those of the feral colonies. Contemporary beekeepers utilise medication on their sick kept colonies, introducing chemicals to kill invasive parasites. This can lead to vulnerabilities over time as kept and feral bees mate, exposing non-medicated bees to disease. No chemicals, treatments, or wing-clipping occurs in Christian’s colonies. Instead, when a sickness is detected, Christian re-queens the hive, thus preventing the illness from spreading to wild populations and allowing the kept colony to self-regulate. This is at the core of Christian’s philosophy: if we create kept colonies of naturally resilient bees, then wild bee populations won’t just survive – they’ll thrive.

As Christian tells us about these processes, children at the camp run in and out of the tent, shouting out facts they’ve been taught and eagerly pointing out the bees humming about his display. They’re more than happy to be amongst the bees, clearly not only used to them but fascinated by them. This is what makes Christian’s pop-ups so special – they’re interactive, up close and personal. They’re fast becoming a staple at festivals and events like Boomtown and Green Gathering, with Christian positioning them as close to the main stages as possible, believing this to be the best way of getting people to connect with the cause.

Christian has around 15,000 bees per colony, meaning he looks after around 375,000 bees altogether. Though he aimed to hit an incredible 2 million bees this year, the rainfall meant that though bee populations survived, they did not expand. When asked how he chooses which colonies to bring along to events like his pop-up at Boomtown’s Whistler’s Green, Christian just laughs and says, ‘You don’t bring dickheads to parties.’ He picks his most placid and unbothered bees and has no trouble with them: the cool bees of the colony. When asked if the intoxicated partygoers ever cause any trouble for the bees, Christian assures us the only bother is getting them to leave as they become so enraptured by the hive.

Christian uses these pop-up stalls to educate people about the bees and to promote his all-natural products. From honey to balms, his bee-borne products all feature propolis as a base, the sticky substance honeybees produce to seal up cracks in their hives. Buying these healing miracle balms is the perfect way to support Christian’s mission. Plus, they smell delicious. Christian was kind enough to gift us a selection including ‘Sunset Glow’ with Frankincense and ‘Radiant Desire’ which contains Bergamot. But of course, the honey is the main attraction. As we busy about the stall admiring the hive and testing out the balms, Christian emerges from the back of the tent, with an enormous tray of honeycomb. Studded with the occasional bee, the glistening slab is thick and sticky with fresh honey. Taking a small knife out of his pocket, Christian spreads hunks of the raw honeycomb on the backs of our hands as if buttering a roll and encourages us to taste. Unlike any supermarket honey, this dark and floral nectar has a full-bodied flavour that softly coats the mouth, soothing and sweet.

Inspired by Christian and his Amazing Bees? You can help support his mission by learning from him, purchasing his products, and even sponsoring a hive.

Find out about his next event and purchase his balms on his website amazingbees.co.uk

Photography in this article courtesy of Laura Baker and Sheena Pearson.