A man holding a honeycomb frame filled with bees outdoors, with green trees and sunlight in the background.

Backyard Beekeepers was founded by Joe Zabczynski in 2024 to share the joys of beekeeping with suburban gardeners like him. Joe, a retired Army veteran, was introduced to beekeeping through the Heroes to Hives program and went on to complete Cornell University’s Master Beekeeping program. Joe is a dedicated volunteer in his local community and is a Delaware County Master Gardener. He enjoys teaching others about beekeeping, cultivating native plants and wildflowers, and managing an apiary site so that all members of the household (dogs included!) can live in harmony.

A circular emblem with a silhouette of a woman in profile saluting, set against a background of the United States map. The outer ring reads, 'HOMEGROWN BY HEROES,' with red stars at the bottom.