ROSSLAND REAL FOOD: Big bees, little bees, let’s help the bees…
By Rossland REAL Food
Entomologist Lynn Westcott is coming back to Rossland for another round of talks and demonstrations about native bees. On April 12, she’ll lead a workshop on the biology, ecology and habitat needs of native bees. Part of this workshop will be similar to what Lynn covered in last year’s workshop, in that she will describe the biology and ecology of locally occurring native bees, and discuss the important roles they play in natural, urban and agricultural areas. In addition, Lynn will:
- Give examples of the kinds of flowering plants we can use to support the nutritional needs of native bees, and provide a comprehensive list of plants as a hand-out;
- Talk about the effects of pesticides on bee populations;
- Demonstrate the construction of nesting blocks, and
- Describe in detail how to maintain the nesting blocks during and after the nesting season.
Native Pollinators Workshop
When:Thursday, April 12, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Where: Rossland Legion Hall basement
Cost: FREE!
Registration: Contact coordinator Hanne Smith at (250) 362-7767 or smithhanne@gmail.com for more information and to register.
Other Bee News
On June 16th, Lynn will lead a field day in Rossland where she will show bees ‘working’ a diverse garden. This will be a good opportunity to see native bees in action, to identify the different types of pollinators, and to look at combinations of flowering plants and appropriate sites for nesting blocks.
These two sessions represent the high altitude half of a grant-supported educational initiative that Lynn has developed for this year. An additional two sessions are running at low altitude in the Trail area. If you can’t attend the Rossland field day on June 16th, you may wish to attend the Trail-area field day on June 2nd instead.
All sessions will be free and open to anyone, though pre-registration is strongly encouraged.
Contact coordinator Hanne Smith at (250) 362-7767 or smithhanne@gmail.com for more information and to register.
Please note: We are still looking for sites for the high and low altitude field days, and would appreciate receiving your suggestions . An ideal garden would have a diverse mixture of flowering plants throughout the growing season, and also a mixture of ornamental flowers, fruiting plants, vegetables and herbs. If you would like to recommend one or more sites for Lynn to consider, please call or email Hanne Smith.
Rossland Community Garden – volunteer recruitment
Rossland REAL Food is seeking volunteers for specific tasks at the Rossland Community Garden this season. Time commitment is minimal and satisfaction is huge! If you are interested in getting you ‘hands dirty’ this spring/summer, please email Rachael at rachael.roussin@gmail.com with the subject ‘community garden’.
Happy Seed Starting!
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