Wild Pollinators – Presented by The Bancroft Area Stewardship Council
Please come and join us for an evening of bees at the auditorium in the new Hastings Highlands municipal building in downtown Maynooth. It will take place Thursday April 26, 2012 at 7PM. Everyone is welcome to attend and this event is free of charge.
This presentation will introduce participants to some of the common wild pollinators in Ontario. The importance of wild pollinating bees will be explained and their fascinating nesting habits and foraging behaviours will be discussed. Steps will then be outlined to help landowners as well as home gardeners create and preserve healthy habitat for native bees. Resource materials and contact sources for further information will be made available.
The Presenter: Susan Chan
Susan Chan holds a B.Sc (Agriculture) from McGill, a M.Sc in Pollination Biology from the University of Guelph, and a B.Ed. from the University of Western Ontario. This formal academic training coincides with her life-long commitment to integrating principles of environmental sustainability and respect for the natural world to the fields of agriculture and education. Susan has experience developing curriculum for alternative education models, works in the Kawarthas to facilitate the delivery of educational resources to farmers through a regional not-for-profit project, Farms at Work, and is working to develop curriculum and as a faculty member in Fleming College’s innovative Sustainable Agriculture Program. She has expertise in the field of pollination biology, especially with respect to wild pollinators, has recently written a landowners guide to pollinator conservation for the Peterborough Stewardship Council, and is presently mounting a regional campaign to raise awareness among farmland owners of the habitat needs of wild pollinators, especially the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee. As an ecological beekeeper, Susan continues to work to encourage new beekeepers in the Kawarthas region, and is an executive member of the Central Ontario Beekeepers Association. She also is the co-founder of a producer-based, local-only community farmers’ market in Lakefield, Ontario.
A comment from Roger Kelly of Kellys’ Berry Farm:
My wife Valerie and I have heard Susan Chan speak. She is very knowledgeable and passionate about bees. Her enthusiasm is infectious. Please bring friends and family to learn about our wild pollinators. Both honeybees and wild bumblebees are in decline. The more knowledge we have about bees the more able we are to help protect and promote this vital resource. Bees are not only vital to our own human existence but they play an essential role in maintaining a balanced Eco-system.
If additional information is required please contact me at 613-338-2535 or 2ukellysgmail.com
We’re Hiring!
Harvest Hastings is looking for someone to join the team! If you are someone with a passion for supporting local food and