Volunteers from the Rotary Club of Tsawwassen were busy with shovels and spades recently to help install a demonstration bee garden at the Delta Chamber of Commerce Visitor Centre.
The location was chosen so residents and visitors can view the garden and learn more about the importance of feeding the bees.
The chamber's beefriendly plantings are part of the Feed the Bees program, a public awareness campaign led by Earthwise Society and the chamber since 2010.
Locally, and throughout the world, bee populations have been in dramatic decline for the past decade. This trend is alarming to local farmers, especially those involved in fruit and berry production that require bees for pollination.
Farmers alone cannot solve this problem. One of the contributing factors in bee population decline is loss of habitat. Without a continuous source of flowers that provide pollen and nectar for bees, bee colonies cannot survive. All of us can take steps to help address this problem by planting bee-friendly gardens at home and work. The garden at the chamber office will have blooms for bees from early spring until late fall.
The Earthwise Society recommended bee-friendly plantings for the project and coordinated volunteers to install the garden.
Chamber executive director Peter Roaf encourages other businesses to include bee-friendly plantings in their landscapes.
"This is an important initiative that supports agricultural productivity in our community," Roaf said.
If you have lots of bees buzzing around your plants, Earthwise Society invites you to register your beefriendly garden with Feed the Bees at www.feedthebees.org to help identify habitat corridors throughout the community.
In September, some of the best gardens will be opened to the public as part of a Bee Friendly Garden Tour. If your garden is a pollinator's paradise, call Earthwise Society and register today.
For more information on Feed The Bees, visit www.earthwisesociety.bc.ca or www.feedthebees.org. Contact [email protected] or call 604-946-9828.
