The Heart of the West: Beetreat

Building connections + knowledge around the importance of bees

with Sarah Red-Laird

July 17 - 20, 2026

Join us for an immersive four-day retreat in the pristine landscape of the Centennial Valley, Montana, where art, science, and conservation converge. The Heart of the West Beetreat offers a unique opportunity to deepen your connection to pollinators, land, and community through hands-on learning, creative expression, and meaningful conversation. 

Set at the beautiful J-L Ranch in the Centennial Valley, this retreat brings together women from diverse backgrounds to explore the critical role of native bees and honey bees in our ecosystems. Through guided pollinator habitat walks, hands-on beekeeping experiences, yoga and mindfulness practices, nature journaling, and a cyanotype art workshop, you will gain both knowledge and creative tools to carry this work forward in your own communities. 

You will receive a plant press to collect wildflowers and botanical specimens from the ranch landscape. These collections become the raw material for your final creative project: a cyanotype artwork that captures the beauty and interconnection of pollinators and their habitat. No prior artistic, beekeeping, or scientific experience is required—just curiosity, openness, and a desire to see the natural world through new eyes. 

This retreat emphasizes spaciousness and connection, with ample free time to explore the ranch, rest, reflect, and build relationships with other participants. Whether you are a land steward, artist, educator, conservationist, beekeeper, or simply someone who cares deeply about the living world, you will find community here. 

A special thank you to Hindu Hillbilly Honey for working with us to provide an on-site apiary.

*Anyone who identifies as a woman is welcome!

Itinerary

Itinerary is subject to change.

Meet Your Artist Facilitator

Sarah Red-Laird

Sarah is founder and co-director of Bee Regenerative, a women-led environmental nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and advance bee conservation on agricultural landscapes. 

Sarah graduated with honors from the University of Montana with a degree in Resource Conservation, focused on community collaboration and environmental policy. She has served as director of the American Beekeeping Federation's "Kids and Bees" program, president of the Northwest Farmers Union and Western Apicultural Society, and as a National Farmers Union board member. 

She spends the colder months living near her Southern Oregon art studio and her field seasons living in a campervan laboratory, documenting bees and botany, working at the intersection of science and community across the Western United States. 

Sarah will be the primary facilitator for the journaling, cyanotype, beekeeping, and native bee and flower portions of the workshop.

Meet Your Chef

Isabelle Kuhn

Isabelle Kuhn is the founder of The Cured Table. Raised in New York, and now inspired by Montana’s wide-open skies, her journey—from zookeeper to hospitality—has always been guided by curiosity and care. Food runs in her blood, shaped by generations of women in her family who built restaurants with passion and heart. At The Cured Table, Isabelle brings that legacy to life, curating meals rooted in locality and seasonality, where gathering is ritual and every table is a space for connection, storytelling, and shared joy.

Retreat Price: $1,650

Reserve your spot via the button below.

*Shared room lodging and meals included. Airfare/transportation NOT included.

If you have specific lodging needs, requests or questions please inquire--private rooms and rustic reduced-rate lodging may be available!