From newsroom to bee farm: Jeff Lee’s second career after 60
Original report:
After decades in journalism, Jeff Lee left Vancouver for a bee farm in rural British Columbia with his wife, Amanda. In a November 2026 Guardian profile, he described how tending hives taught him to slow down without giving up work.
Jeff Lee exchanged investigative reporting for beekeeping after newsroom cuts prompted him to reconsider his career. The Guardian’s November 2026 profile described how he and his wife, Amanda, developed an interest in bees, took a course and installed two backyard hives before buying a farm 300 miles east of Vancouver when he was 60.
Lee, 69 at the time of the profile, said handling bees required a calmer approach than his deadline-driven work at the Vancouver Sun. The transition also brought substantial setbacks: the couple lost almost all their bees during their first two years on the farm. They subsequently rebuilt, reaching 800 hives and winning awards at two major US honey shows.
Lee’s experience illustrates a later-life career change rather than withdrawal from working life. His account links the move to both dissatisfaction following newsroom cuts and an existing interest in independent living. While he credited beekeeping with improving his wellbeing, the profile offers a personal account, not evidence of broader health benefits or farming profitability.
Source
the Guardian — 9 November 2026
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