BC Gov News

The following projects were funded in the province through the 2021 intake of the Bee BC program.

BCHPA, Central Cariboo: Sterilized frames and boxes of hives to eliminate lingering disease and pathogens, such as European foulbrood on honeycomb, to help the region’s bees build colonies in clean hives.

BCHPA, North Okanagan: Planted a mix of drought and heat tolerant plants; tested cutting alfalfa at 5% bloom and rejuvenating alfalfa growth for a second pollination in early fall.

Bee Awareness Society: Provided an educational program for schools in the Kootenays region teaching the life cycle of the honey bee, the importance of pollination and what students can do in their own backyards to attract pollinators and keep them healthy.

BEEKind Honey Bees: Increased available native non-invasive pollinator forage with high values in pollen and nectar sources during the summer.

Campbell’s Gold Honey Farm and Meadery: Increased the amount of forage and nutrition available to bees year-round.

Country Bee Honey Farm Ltd.: School tours of the farm; ladybug release events to educate the public on their importance to bees and plants; honey extraction demonstration events; seed collection from pollen producing plants in late summer and fall.

Cowichan Beekeepers Society: Developed, improved and streamlined the delivery of learning materials with specific issues concerning bee health for farmers, local governments, local businesses and commercial apiaries.

Dunbar Community Center Association: Engaged in outreach to target bee health through their apiary’s regular maintenance and the encouragement of local beekeepers to maintain the health of their colonies.

Hives for Humanity Society: Planted forage and supported bee habitat through pollinator meadows and community education.

Honey Bee Zen Apiaries Ltd.: Focused on making sterilization transportation services available to beekeepers in the Kootenays.

Janet Simpson, and Lyall and Victoria Acheson (beekeepers): Reduced the housing stressors of bees by creating a hive that recreates the conditions of their natural home in a tree trunk to test their theory that biologically appropriate housing will support bees own natural defences against Varroa (parasitic mites).

Mark Schilling (beekeeper): Used forward-looking infrared camera to capture thermal images of colonies, which is a non-invasive indication of colony size. In winter months, this tool can indicate whether the colony is still alive and the size and location of it within the hive.

Martin Buhler and Jessica Stanley (beekeepers): Planted approximately 1,097 square metres (3,600 square feet) of lavender on their farm for forage to provide nectar and pollen for bees.

North Okanagan Beekeepers: Helped control diseases and prevent the spread to other bee operations by irradiation sterilization of hives in the Okanagan Valley and the Armstrong and Salmon Arm area.

Robson Valley Beekeepers Association: Provided junior beekeepers information and mentoring on hive health and strength during the spring and summer months in preparation for overwintering, along with classroom instruction through the winter months to help their understanding of beekeeping.

Rushing Rivers Apiaries: Measured the overwintering conditions of five-frame nucleus colonies in two different box types, polystyrene and wood, to compare the interior hive conditions during the winter.

Smithers Beekeeping Club: Collected pollen throughout the season from co-operator apiaries throughout B.C. as samples, and catalogued, identified and compared the data of each individual colony performance throughout the year.

Wild Antho: Replanted 16 hectares (40 acres) of native pollinator friendly plants to provide bee forage.

Zand Farm: Planted annual and perennial native plants in early spring and fall to help address crucial times in the colony lifecycle.