Julia Common

Julia Common is a BCHPA certified beekeeping instructor and member of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists. 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 the Vancouver-based society Hives for Humanity, which she co-founded 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. Pollination work has led her to focus on how to better the conditions under which we expect our bees to live and work. Julia is passionate about bees and teaching and she has participated in a number of research projects over the past decade. Since her retirement from Hives for Humanity in 2019, Julia has built the company, Bees Actually, to include nuc and honey sales, greenhouse and field pollination, consulting, presenting and teaching.

​Julia is a member of the Richmond and Langley bee clubs in the Fraser Valley, and of the BCHPA. She is also a member of the Native Bee Society of British Columbia, and recently become a member of the Western Apicultural Society. Julia fosters collaborative thinking across many divides as we face the ongoing and future challenges for our bees and this wonderful art and practice of beekeeping.