The bees and some equipment were donated by Larry Cooper of Riverbirch Bees, with Jean Hunnicutt providing additional equipment and Jordan Smith making the stand.

The old Duncan Oil site, located next to the Mainspring Conservation Trust office, has been a Mainspring project since the land trust purchased the 1.5-acre property in 2015. A brownfields agreement from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, a Cherokee Preservation Fund grant and $30,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funded the cleanup.