This weekend’s Pollinator Picnic celebrates the success of Kelowna’s newly-established nectar trail. Photo credit: Bob Lalonde
What: Pollinator Picnic
Who: UBC researchers, Border Free Bees project, Kelowna Nectar Trail participants
When: Sunday, June 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Summerhill Winery Heritage Lawn, 4870 Chute Lake Road, Kelowna
The success of Kelowna’s first nectar trail will be celebrated at Summerhill Winery this Sunday.
UBC’s Border Free Bees project, organized by Assoc. Prof Nancy Holmes in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, is hosting the Pollinator Picnic. The event will help raise awareness about wild pollinators and celebrate the completion of Kelowna’s first nectar trail.
The nectar trail is a 7.4 km series of flowerbeds and gardens through the south Mission neighbourhood that help pollinators move through the urban landscape. More than 70 businesses and private homes, as well as every single school along the route, have signed on to the Trail and will be invited as Bee Ambassadors.
The family-friendly picnic will include educational booths and displays, music, and activities. A Swarm in June, a special community art creation by Armstrong artist Rhonda Neufeld, will help entertain kids of all ages. Participants are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to the event.
The nectar trail has inspired other local groups—Glenmore neighbours are hosting a nectar trail project and UBC is creating one through its Okanagan campus.
The Pollinator Picnic and the Kelowna Nectar Trail are part of Border Free Bees, a UBC project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council that uses art and design to inspire conservation and stewardship of native bees.
The nectar trail has brought together UBC students and faculty members, environmental partners, community groups, and members of the public, and is also supported by a grant from Go Wild, a community initiative funded by Telus through the World Wildlife Federation.
For more information contact Associate Professor Nancy Holmes at nancy.holmes@ubc.ca or 250-764-9666 or visit: borderfreebees.com/kelowna-nectar-trail
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