Apiary Sponsorship
Your partnership in Stratford’s Bee-keeping initiative will benefit the environment, children and your family!
Our goal is to share the amazing world of honey bees with children and adults through experiential activities and programs at Stratford Ecological Center.
Your Sponsorship support will help our apiary team purchase supplies, equipment and to help develop educational materials for teaching youth and families about beekeeping.
Worker Bee Sponsor – $50 – You’ll receive a small 8 oz. decorative bottle of honey and a certificate of appreciation.
Queen Bee Sponsor – $250 – You will receive one pound of honey in a larger decorative bottle and a personal visit to Stratford to see the hives guided by one of our beekeeping team.
Bee Hive Sponsor – $500 – You and your family will sponsor one bee hive! Your name will be printed on a brass plate affixed to the hive lid. We will offer you and your family an “in the hive” experience guided by one of our beekeepers. Additionally, you’ll receive a full quart jar of honey and a photograph of you and your family at your hive with the name plate.
(Write “HONEY” in comment box)
Ben Sippel Growing Forward Scholarship
One of Stratford’s unsung programs is our Sustainable Agriculture Internship Program. Being offered since our inception, we have accepted and mentored an untold number of agricultural interns, from all ages and walks of life. Our acceptance policy has always been that in some way, regardless of your education or experience in agriculture, that you intend to utilize the skill-sets that you will learn, by doing, and applying them to any number of career or lifestyle paths. As a result, we have generated a number of future farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, teachers, advocates and researchers for a more sustainable food system. Ben Sippel’s story is one of the shining, memorable stars that came through this program under the tutelage of Jim Harpster and Paul Etheridge, former farmer and CSA manager, respectively, of the Stratford Ecological Center.
In gratitude for an amazing friend who passed away, supporters of Stratford Ecological Center have created the Ben Sippel Growing Forward Scholarship. Ben was a Stratford agriculture apprentice and then co-manager of the Stratford Community Supported Agriculture program and was vital to its growth. Ultimately, the CSA would form the nucleus of his own farm. Along with his wife, Lisa, Ben created a community of aware and connected consumers that continues today with Sippel Family Farm. Ben’s dedication was extraordinary and others need the opportunity to grow food who are equally driven to make the world a more sane and bountiful place for all. The scholarship will financially support an Ag apprentice directly with a stipend. Stratford Ecological Center eagerly invites others to contribute to give aspiring farmers a chance to work and experience the spiritual and intellectual demands of caring for people and the land. The Stratford Ecological Center will be forever grateful for his presence at Stratford and the impact he had on the world after us – and for the potential of this fund in his name to help create the next generation of food providers.
(Write “Ben Sippel” in comment box)
Ben Sippel Growing Forward Scholarship
One of Stratford’s unsung programs is our Sustainable Agriculture Internship Program. Being offered since our inception, we have accepted and mentored an untold number of agricultural interns, from all ages and walks of life. Our acceptance policy has always been that in some way, regardless of your education or experience in agriculture, that you intend to utilize the skill-sets that you will learn, by doing, and applying them to any number of career or lifestyle paths. As a result, we have generated a number of future farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, teachers, advocates and researchers for a more sustainable food system. Ben Sippel’s story is one of the shining, memorable stars that came through this program under the tutelage of Jim Harpster and Paul Etheridge, former farmer and CSA manager, respectively, of the Stratford Ecological Center.
In gratitude for an amazing friend who passed away, supporters of Stratford Ecological Center have created the Ben Sippel Growing Forward Scholarship. Ben was a Stratford agriculture apprentice and then co-manager of the Stratford Community Supported Agriculture program and was vital to its growth. Ultimately, the CSA would form the nucleus of his own farm. Along with his wife, Lisa, Ben created a community of aware and connected consumers that continues today with Sippel Family Farm. Ben’s dedication was extraordinary and others need the opportunity to grow food who are equally driven to make the world a more sane and bountiful place for all. The scholarship will financially support an Ag apprentice directly with a stipend. Stratford Ecological Center eagerly invites others to contribute to give aspiring farmers a chance to work and experience the spiritual and intellectual demands of caring for people and the land. The Stratford Ecological Center will be forever grateful for his presence at Stratford and the impact he had on the world after us – and for the potential of this fund in his name to help create the next generation of food providers.
(Write “Ben Sippel” in comment box)