Our Mission

Bridgetown Bees was founded in 2012 by Glen Andresen and Tim Wessels, two beekeepers who live—and keep honey bees—in Northeast Portland, Oregon. Tim retired from Bridgetown Bees in 2016 but continues to keep bees in North and Northeast Portland. Glen continues to operate Bridgetown Bees as a one-man show.

Our primary goal at Bridgetown Bees is to be of service to beginning and intermediate backyard city beekeepers. We strive to answer questions promptly, give sage advice based on 35 years of beekeeping experience, and offer affordable hands-on home consultations.

 In addition, we offer nucleus hives (nucs) and packages in the spring of each year. These starter hives come from family-run commercial beekeeping operations, both located in the Willamette Valley.

 And finally, most of our beekeeping woodenware (boxes, tops, bottoms, etc.) is made from reclaimed wood, including from construction site debris, wood salvaged from weather-downed trees, and logs “harvested” from the Willamette River.

(We also follow the lead of the Entomological Society of America which spells “honey bee” with two words, because the name accurately describes the type of bee, which is in line with its rule to spell common insect names in this way!)