Keeping the Bees
Welcome to the part of the website that is dependent on you!
As researchers and scientists, we delight in exploring our world, but that exploration has little value if it cannot impact the broader community in a positive way. We study bees every day and have a unique understanding of how important they are to our ecosystems. Accommodation of our resident pollinators is dependent on more than just a handful of scientists, and that is why we are asking you to determine what you can do to help make our world a better place for bees. Below we have listed several ways that you can support local species, and information about the threats to bee health.
If you live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada PollinateTO is a program that will fund projects aimed to facilitate the creation and maintenance of pollinator gardens. Check out the program here!
So please get out there and help us keep the wild bees!
As researchers and scientists, we delight in exploring our world, but that exploration has little value if it cannot impact the broader community in a positive way. We study bees every day and have a unique understanding of how important they are to our ecosystems. Accommodation of our resident pollinators is dependent on more than just a handful of scientists, and that is why we are asking you to determine what you can do to help make our world a better place for bees. Below we have listed several ways that you can support local species, and information about the threats to bee health.
If you live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada PollinateTO is a program that will fund projects aimed to facilitate the creation and maintenance of pollinator gardens. Check out the program here!
So please get out there and help us keep the wild bees!
Wildflower Gardens:
If the bee hotels are tantamount to housing, then wildflower gardens are the buffet table of the bees. These gardens are beneficial in encouraging bee population in any area, but again are useful especially in urban areas, where flowers are becoming scarce. Promoting flower growth increases bee population, and similarly more bees stimulate the spread of more flowers. The symbiotic relationship between flowers and their pollinators is fascinating to consider, as it is difficult for one to survive without the other, and that case can be made for the relationship between humans and the local pollinators of our crops. Whether your interests lie in flowers, bees, pollinators, the survivorship of the human race, or simply something to make unused space prettier, follow the links below to learn more about wildflower gardens:
How to create a pollinator-friendly garden - David Suzuki Foundation
Toronto Botanical Garden
Gardening for Pollinators - USDA Forest Service
If the bee hotels are tantamount to housing, then wildflower gardens are the buffet table of the bees. These gardens are beneficial in encouraging bee population in any area, but again are useful especially in urban areas, where flowers are becoming scarce. Promoting flower growth increases bee population, and similarly more bees stimulate the spread of more flowers. The symbiotic relationship between flowers and their pollinators is fascinating to consider, as it is difficult for one to survive without the other, and that case can be made for the relationship between humans and the local pollinators of our crops. Whether your interests lie in flowers, bees, pollinators, the survivorship of the human race, or simply something to make unused space prettier, follow the links below to learn more about wildflower gardens:
How to create a pollinator-friendly garden - David Suzuki Foundation
Toronto Botanical Garden
Gardening for Pollinators - USDA Forest Service
Mowing:
Lawn maintenance is essential to providing a comfortable habitat for humans and insects alike, but excessive mowing is unnecessary and dangerous. A lawn of cut grass does not provide pollinators like bees with anything to feed upon, and limits the growth of native plants. Dandelions, plantains and purple loosestrifes are flowering plants considered to be weeds by many landscapers, even though they are beneficial to bees and other pollinators. Mowing in expansive areas make the distances between potential food sources too great for local pollinator abundance. Lawn mowers are also deadly to bees (imagine tornadoes of sharp blades rotating several thousand times per minute) and are not particularly safe for humans. A good compromise between appealing yards and support of bee habitat is the maintenance of ‘soft edges’. Leave a few feet at the edge of the lawn unmoved to provide bee and flower habitats. The below links provide added information about how mowing, or not mowing, can affect local pollinators:
Want to help bees? Take a break from lawn mowing - USDA Forest Service
Nature Conservancy of Canada suggests leaving lawns alone in May - The Nature Conservancy
Lawn maintenance is essential to providing a comfortable habitat for humans and insects alike, but excessive mowing is unnecessary and dangerous. A lawn of cut grass does not provide pollinators like bees with anything to feed upon, and limits the growth of native plants. Dandelions, plantains and purple loosestrifes are flowering plants considered to be weeds by many landscapers, even though they are beneficial to bees and other pollinators. Mowing in expansive areas make the distances between potential food sources too great for local pollinator abundance. Lawn mowers are also deadly to bees (imagine tornadoes of sharp blades rotating several thousand times per minute) and are not particularly safe for humans. A good compromise between appealing yards and support of bee habitat is the maintenance of ‘soft edges’. Leave a few feet at the edge of the lawn unmoved to provide bee and flower habitats. The below links provide added information about how mowing, or not mowing, can affect local pollinators:
Want to help bees? Take a break from lawn mowing - USDA Forest Service
Nature Conservancy of Canada suggests leaving lawns alone in May - The Nature Conservancy
Bee Hotels:
One of the ways to help support bees and the pollination they provide is to create a bee hotel, which is simply a collection of sticks suitable for bees to live in. Bee hotels are especially important to maintain in urban environments where natural plant growth has been stymied by human activity. By providing the bees with a place to live, half of the requisites of bee-tending have been satisfied (see the section below on wildflower gardens to learn about the rest of the ‘simple bee necessities’). Bee hotels can vary in size, style and composition, depending on what type of bees you are hoping to attract, and the number of guests you wish to entertain. Check out these links for some bee hotel basics, design specifications, and images for design inspiration:
Creating a Solitary Bee Hotel - University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Building and managing bee hotels for wild bees - Michigan State University Extension
One of the ways to help support bees and the pollination they provide is to create a bee hotel, which is simply a collection of sticks suitable for bees to live in. Bee hotels are especially important to maintain in urban environments where natural plant growth has been stymied by human activity. By providing the bees with a place to live, half of the requisites of bee-tending have been satisfied (see the section below on wildflower gardens to learn about the rest of the ‘simple bee necessities’). Bee hotels can vary in size, style and composition, depending on what type of bees you are hoping to attract, and the number of guests you wish to entertain. Check out these links for some bee hotel basics, design specifications, and images for design inspiration:
Creating a Solitary Bee Hotel - University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Building and managing bee hotels for wild bees - Michigan State University Extension
Pesticides:
The ‘-cide’ suffix of pesticide or perhaps more accurately labeled insecticide comes from conjugations of the Latin verb to kill (caedere) and the danger of insecticides to bee life is evident in the name. Insecticides are not specific to groups of insects considered to be ‘pests’ and are dangerous to all forms of insect and human life. The use of pesticides on crops, lawns, and gardens is an unhealthy practice for all members of the ecological community. The simple message is: don’t use pesticides. See the provided links for more:
Pesticide Toxicity to Bees - Wikipedia
Pesticide Considerations For Native Bees In Agroforestry - USDA National Agroforestry Center
Pesticides, Honeybees, and Native Pollinators - The Wildlife News
The ‘-cide’ suffix of pesticide or perhaps more accurately labeled insecticide comes from conjugations of the Latin verb to kill (caedere) and the danger of insecticides to bee life is evident in the name. Insecticides are not specific to groups of insects considered to be ‘pests’ and are dangerous to all forms of insect and human life. The use of pesticides on crops, lawns, and gardens is an unhealthy practice for all members of the ecological community. The simple message is: don’t use pesticides. See the provided links for more:
Pesticide Toxicity to Bees - Wikipedia
Pesticide Considerations For Native Bees In Agroforestry - USDA National Agroforestry Center
Pesticides, Honeybees, and Native Pollinators - The Wildlife News
Bees on Farms:
As previously stated above, bees are major contributors to local pollination, and are essential to plant growth. It is necessary to consider the bees when designing farming techniques so that the bees, the plants, and the farms are all able to thrive. Topics like mowing and maintenance, crop variety, and pesticide use all contribute to the livelihood of bees on farms. By considering the safety and prosperity of the bees and other creatures that contribute to a healthy ecosystem, we are able to secure our own sustainability. The links below go into more detail about bees on farms:
Best management practices for pollinators on western rangelands - Xerces Society
Bee Friendly Farming - Pollinator Partnership
Native pollinators and agriculture in Canada - Agriculture and Agri-food Canada
As previously stated above, bees are major contributors to local pollination, and are essential to plant growth. It is necessary to consider the bees when designing farming techniques so that the bees, the plants, and the farms are all able to thrive. Topics like mowing and maintenance, crop variety, and pesticide use all contribute to the livelihood of bees on farms. By considering the safety and prosperity of the bees and other creatures that contribute to a healthy ecosystem, we are able to secure our own sustainability. The links below go into more detail about bees on farms:
Best management practices for pollinators on western rangelands - Xerces Society
Bee Friendly Farming - Pollinator Partnership
Native pollinators and agriculture in Canada - Agriculture and Agri-food Canada
