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Native pollinators wanted in Foothills

A bee expert in Turner Valley says people are rallying for the wrong ones as she works to regenerate native species in the Foothills.
Lexi Farmer
Turner Valley resident Lexi Farmer is hoping to get Diamond Valley residents on board with putting bee boxes on their property to help her research about native bees in the area.

A bee expert in Turner Valley says people are rallying for the wrong ones as she works to regenerate native species in the Foothills. Lexie Farmer, a biology instructor at Mount Royal University with a masters in ecology, is creating birdhouse-like bee boxes for colony-forming bees and getting residents in Black Diamond, Turner Valley, Okotoks and High River to put them in their green spaces in an effort to attract and monitor native bee species. She’s also working with the Town of Turner Valley with hopes to establish a pollinator corridor to help boost the population in her hometown. “Honeybees are in such huge numbers that they out-compete them,” said Farmer. “They deplete the nectar and pollen in sheer numbers. Two years ago I wouldn’t feel confident saying that but now enough is enough.” Farmer is most concerned about the western bumblebee, an endangered bee that used to be in abundance in Turner Valley. She said she hasn’t seen one for five years. “We have a responsibility as stewards of the land and the fact that we were a location for an endangered species we should be doing the right practices to maintain those populations,” she said. “Urban beekeeping is counter to any type of beekeeping effort.” Lexie, along with some of her colleagues, co-founded the Alberta Native Bee Council to create pollinator habitat and increase awareness around native bees and their importance in communities. She also established a bumblebee-monitoring program in Black Diamond and Turner Valley earlier this year and received a $10,000 grant through Mount Royal University’s Institute of Environmental Sustainability to promote and raise awareness around native pollinators. As part of that education, Farmer hosted workshops in various towns in the Foothills and Calgary. “It’s just a great way to get people thinking about bees and native species because usually as soon as I say bees people say, ‘My uncle is a beekeeper and I’m thinking about keeping bees,’” she said. “Bees have become synonymous with honeybees.” Farmer has also built hundreds of bee boxes that she’s placing in those communities with hopes to monitor and collect data regarding activity. Approximately 30 per cent of those boxes become homes to bees each year, Farmer said. “It’s like putting out a birdhouse,” she said. “You can put birdhouses all over your property it doesn’t mean the birds are using them.” One of Farmer’s biggest supporters is Turner Valley resident Cheryle Dobbyn, who saw western bumblebees flying around her backyard about 10 years ago. “They were these big beautiful bees with white bums – I had at least three that lived in my yard at the time,” she said. “I was so excited to find out that our area was unique. There is an endangered species that was, for some reason, flourishing here.” More recently, Dobbyn saw Nevada bumblebees in her willow pile last year. This year, she hasn’t seen any bees in her yard. “I don’t have one bumblebee, which is really sad,” she said. “My tree is full of honeybees so I think somebody has honeybees. It’s very frustrating.” Like Farmer, Dobbyn is concerned about the abundance of honeybees in her community. “Backyard bees is a death sentence for native bees,” she said. “They’re not helping bees they’re killing them. I would like to see backyard bees banned here.” Dobbyn said she’s glad to see Farmer dedicated to bring native bee species back to Foothills communities before more become endangered. “I’m very supportive of her plans and try to help her in any way I can,” she said. “I’ve tried through the years to tell people we could build a whole community around these little bees. We could be these endangered bees’ saviors.” Dobbyn has placed bee boxes in her yard and said she would love to see bee corridors established throughout her community. She attends Farmer’s seminars. “She will come out to anybody anytime to talk bees,” she said. “She will hold forums, she give an amazing talk about bees. You will learn so much about bees you never knew. She’s just wonderful.” To learn more or to put bee boxes in your yard contact Lexie at Alberta Native Bee Council on Facebook and or www.albertantivebeecouncil.ca  

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