SAN FRANCISCO BEE-CAUSE
Karen Peteros
Co-Founder and Director
Karen began beekeeping in April 2006. Since then, she has kept bees in her San Francisco backyard (Glen Canyon Park neighborhood). She has personally managed and co-managed up to 35 hives at one time.
Karen has taught beginning beekeeping classes every year continuously since 2007. Karen has been interviewed about honey bees, urban and backyard beekeeping in print, on radio, TV and video. She has generously mentored beginning and newer beekeepers while serving as Secretary of the San Francisco Beekeepers Association (SFBA) during 2008, and as President during 2009. In those capacities, she initiated and implemented innovations to address the growing public interest in bees and beekeeping, the needs of a growing and younger membership of new and aspiring beekeepers, and the imperative to shift SFBA philosophy away from "no-fault" beekeeping to "responsible" beekeeping.
Motivated by her desires to use bees for public good and to "give back" to bees, she teamed with Cameo Wood, a kindred yet complimentary spirit, to develop a vision for a new organization that has become San Francisco Bee-Cause (SFBC).
She co-manages SFBC's Bee Farm project and Seasonal Native Bee Survey project, and manages SFBC's 2-Year Beekeeping Apprenticeship Program,
Cameo Wood
Co-Founder and Director
Cameo was the proprietrix of Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper (HMSB) which she opened in the Mission district in June 2009. Not only was HMSB San Francisco's very first honey and beekeeping supply store, it likely is the first such store to open in a major U.S. city.
Through HMSB, Cameo has developed a local market economy for San Francisco and other Bay Area honeys, as well as for personal care and other products produced locally using local honey or hive ingredients.
Steven Cameron
Treasurer & Secretary
Steven began beekeeping at age 17. Since that time, he has continuously kept honey bees in such varied places as northern Maine, El Paso, Indianapolis, Paris France, Frankfurt Germany and, most recently, in San Francisco. Single-handedly, he has managed an apiary of 21 colonies.
Steven is a former officer of the El Paso Beekeepers Association and a former officer of the San Francisco Beekeepers Association. Steven has and continue to generously mentor and advise beginning and newer beekeepers. He is widely read and versed in apiculture, and in current developments in apiculture. Honey bees, fiscal responsibility and recordkeeping are among his passions.
Cara Ching
Program Co-Manager & Director
Cara joined the program in 2019 as an apprentice and has
co-managed since 2021. It's been a rewarding journey educating future beekeepers, and she looks for more opportunities to further her knowledge through classes, programs, and publications.
Along with leading inspections, she also leads our wax workshops and honeybee dissection workshops, and can be found at the apiary most Sundays. If there's an opportunity to dissect something at the apiary, she has the tools handy in her bag.
Other hobbies include paper crafts and carnivorous plants.
In her own words: "I always wanted to be a honeybee
steward but was never motivated to dive in on my own.
This program allowed me to immerse myself in bees without the responsibility of managing a hive by myself.
Bees are amazing and incredible!”
Eric Vanderpool
Program Co-Manager & Director
Eric has been enchanted with honey bees from the time he was a kid. Family friends owned a commercial honey farm in a high mountain valley in Colorado, and Eric was always fascinated by the bees, the hives, and, of course, the honey.
Years later, as a recovering attorney living in the urban environment of San Francisco, Eric wanted to figure out a way to commune more with nature and do his part to stem climate change. That’s when he stumbled across a social media posting for San Francisco Bee-Cause and its two-year, intensive Beekeeping Apprenticeship Program.
Eric joined the 2019-2021 apprenticeship class and immediately felt at home beekeeping. Whether it’s the challenge of inspecting a hive overflowing with bees, figuring out the best plan to treat against the notorious Varroa destructor parasite, extracting glorious honey produced by the Program’s own bees, or continuing to increase his knowledge of bee biology, reproduction, communication and their eusociality, Eric enjoys it all (except, perhaps, wiring and installing foundation in frames).
Upon graduating from the Program and unable to have his own hive because of the lack of a suitable space, Eric accepted the invitation to take on a leadership role in Bee-Cause, becoming a co-director.
Aspects of the Program that bring Eric the most satisfaction include seeing the joy and excitement of new apprentices when they first go into the hives and begin working with the bees, and knowing that the Program produces beekeepers who are knowledgeable about both the art and science of beekeeping and who utilize “gentle” beekeeping techniques.
