Is Your Land a Good Fit?
We are building a network of 1,000 permanently managed beehives on working land across Australia at no cost to the landowner. Farms, orchards, lifestyle blocks, and rural acreage are all welcome. If the land is right, we want to hear from you. You do not need to know anything about bees. That is our job.
Mixed farms, grazing properties, and cropping land are ideal. Your land provides natural forage and safe habitat for managed hives. The pollination benefit goes directly to your crops and the surrounding landscape. We handle the bees. You keep farming.
Orchards and horticultural districts with diverse surrounding vegetation make strong sites for permanent hives. Bees benefit from flowering cycles and trees benefit from year round pollination. But we are not a pollination service. The hives stay because the land is right, not because a crop needs them this season.
You do not need to be a commercial farm. If your land has diverse vegetation and the right conditions, your property becomes the base for hives that service every farm, orchard, and garden within a 5km radius. Lifestyle blocks, hobby farms, and rural acreage with native flowering are exactly what we are looking for.
Why we need your land
Australian food production depends on bees. Bees depend on land like yours.
65% of the fruit, vegetables, and nuts grown in Australia depend on honey bee pollination. That is $12.9 billion worth of crops every year. With Varroa mite now confirmed in 5 states and territories, managed bee populations are under more pressure than ever. Without permanent hives on working land, pollination rates decline, crop yields fall, and food becomes more expensive for everyone.
1000 Hives is a community funded conservation initiative building a network of 1,000 permanently managed beehives on working land across Australia at no cost to the landowner. Every hive is maintained by a certified beekeeper operating under strict biosecurity protocols. The bees pollinate crops and the surrounding landscape. The honey funds the program. Your property becomes part of a national conservation network protecting the pollination systems that keep Australian food production running.
We work with you, not against you.
Pesticide management that protects your crops and our bees.
What harms bees
Neonicotinoids are the most damaging chemical class for bees. They are systemic insecticides absorbed straight into pollen and nectar, so bees ingest them while foraging. Even sub-lethal doses cause disorientation, weakened immunity, and colony collapse. Neonicotinoids are the one thing we cannot work around.
Organophosphates and pyrethroids kill bees on contact. Even when applied correctly, drift and residue can reach foraging bees hours after spraying. These are manageable with the right timing, but we need to know about them.
Glyphosate (Roundup) does not kill bees outright, but Virginia Tech research (2026) found it impairs bee brain chemistry and reduces foraging by 13% after just three days of exposure. It also destroys beneficial gut bacteria, making bees far more vulnerable to infection.
How we work together
Most pesticides are safe for bees if applied in the evening when they are not foraging. We sit down with every land partner to discuss what you spray and when, and build a schedule that works for both your crops and our hives.
Where alternatives exist that work for your operation, we are happy to share them. Spinosad and chlorantraniliprole are softer options for land partners looking to move away from the worst neonicotinoids. For glyphosate, we ask land partners to flag spray timing near hive sites in advance so we can plan around it. Our full Pesticide Reference Guide covers the practical options without expecting you to overhaul how you farm.
We understand that crops sometimes need chemicals to survive. That is the reality of farming in Australia. We are not here to tell you what to use. We are here to help you find the safest way to use it, so your land stays productive and the bees stay healthy.
Questions about pesticide use on your property? Get in touch.
$0
Cost to Land Partners
25+
Hives per Property
1,000
Hives Across Australia
What we need from your land
We keep things simple. These are not hoops to jump through. They are just practical requirements that help us keep the bees healthy and our beekeepers safe.
Minimum 12.5 acres of usable forage land
This is not total property size but active foraging land with diverse vegetation. We need enough space to place approximately 25 hives spread across your property in smaller groups, giving our beekeeper a full day of work on a single site.
Mixed use or diverse land preferred
Orchards, market gardens, diverse pasture, and lifestyle blocks are ideal. Properties with a mix of flowering species and varied land use give bees the best year-round forage. Broadacre monoculture farming is not suitable.
No neonicotinoid pesticides
Neonicotinoids are highly toxic to bees and incompatible with our program. Other pesticides can usually be managed with safe spray schedules. We will discuss your current practices during the assessment and work with you on a plan that protects both your property and our hives.
Permanent vehicle access
Our beekeepers need vehicle access to each hive location so they can carry out inspections and maintenance without requiring an escort for every visit. A cleared access track suitable for a ute or trailer is all that is needed.
Reliable water source
Bees need access to water year round. A dam, creek, stock trough, or purpose-built water point near the hive sites is required. This can be natural or provided by you.
No animal access to hive areas
The hive site must be fully inaccessible to all livestock and animals. Cattle, horses, and other animals can knock hives over, stress the colony, and get stung. If you do not already have fencing around the proposed hive area, we will work with you to install our own low-profile fencing at no cost to you.
Landowner consent
If you are a lessee or tenant rather than the property owner, we will need written consent from the landowner before we can proceed with placement.
No existing beekeeping arrangement
Our biosecurity model only works if we can control what is happening on the property. If another beekeeper is also visiting the site with their own equipment, hives, and schedule, we cannot guarantee the one-property-per-day protocols that protect your bees and ours. Properties must have no existing managed hives.
Thoughtful Placement,
Not Just Convenient Placement
Our hives are permanently embedded on your property, not trucked in and out on seasonal contracts. We spread hives across your land in smaller groups of 10 to 12 hives to reduce local foraging competition and support a healthier ecosystem. Every placement is assessed individually, looking for east-facing morning sun, natural afternoon shade, proximity to water, and distance from livestock areas. Bees forage up to 5km in every direction from the hive, meaning your land does not need to feed them alone. The whole landscape does.
More than just hives
What We Build on Your Land
Every hive site is purpose-built. We do not just drop boxes on the ground and leave. We create a dedicated area on your property that is designed for the long term health of the bees and the broader ecosystem.
Prepared Gravel Pad
Each hive group sits on a sectioned gravel area. This prevents weed and snake hazards around the base and gives our beekeeper a safe, clean, dry working surface year round. It is an OHS requirement for our beekeepers and creates a clear boundary that separates the hive site from the rest of the paddock.
Pollination Planting Zone
We plant a dedicated forage bed around each hive site for close-range food in every season. Each species is chosen for honey bee nutrition and timed to bloom when the wider landscape goes quiet, so the colony always has something to work.
Beyond the Hive
We care about all bees, not just managed honey bees. Every property receives 100 native plants selected for the local region in a dedicated habitat area on the property. These plantings support wild pollinators including native bee species, hoverflies, and butterflies. A pocket of biodiversity on every property we work with.
The benefits of hosting hives
We do not charge you anything. In return for your land, here is what you receive.
Free pollination across your property for the life of the hive placement. No unexpected costs to bring pollinators onto your land. We fund everything.
Regular hive updates so you know exactly what is happening with the bees on your land. Photos, inspection notes, and seasonal reports delivered direct.
Professional Varroa management with no liability or responsibility on your part. Our beekeepers handle all monitoring, treatment, and biosecurity compliance.
Named on the 1000 Hives website as a Farm Partner
(if you would like to be)
A selection of honey from the hives on your land each season where production allows. Real honey from your own property, harvested by your beekeeper.
Contribution to bee conservation. By hosting our hives, you are helping boost pollinator numbers at a time when Australia's wild honey bee population is under serious pressure
Register Your Property
Join our waitlist. We will be in touch when hives are ready for your area.
Please read before submitting
This form adds your property to our waitlist. We are not able to place hives immediately. Building 1,000 hives across Australia takes time and each placement requires a site assessment, a signed land access agreement, and coordination with our beekeeping team.
Currently, we are placing hives across the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. As our network of beekeepers and sponsors grows, we plan to expand into other regions and states. If you are outside the Adelaide Hills, register your interest and we will contact you as our reach expands to your area.
Once a suitable hive placement becomes available for your area, we will contact you by email. If your property looks like a good match, we will follow up personally to discuss next steps.