A blue orchard mason bee is a highly-efficient pollinator and popular with backyard gardeners.
Kelowna Museums hosts workshop to promote pollinator gardens
What: Build a Mason Bee House
Who: Kelowna Museums, Border Free Bees, members of the public
When: Saturday, March 30 from 1 to 3:30 p.m.
Where: Laurel Packing House, 1304 Ellis Street, Kelowna
Members of the community are invited to attend a workshop where they will learn how to build a mason bee house for their garden.
The hands-on event, hosted by Kelowna Museums and Border Free Bees, will also include information about caring for mason bees and the benefits of a pollinator garden.
Border Free Bees is a long-term public art initiative, headed by UBC Okanagan Professor Nancy Holmes. The goal is to help raise awareness of the plight of wild pollinators, while at the same time help communities find solutions to habitat loss by transforming urban sites into viable pollinator pastures.
“The mason bee is a native bee that is a super-pollinator,” explains Holmes, who teaches in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies. “Mason bees are great pollinators for backyard gardeners and anyone who has a few fruit trees or a small flower garden.”
People can drop in at the Laurel Packing House anytime between 1 and 3:30 p.m. on March 30 to build a home for mason bees. The event is free, but participants should bring a clean one-litre, cardboard milk carton. They will be able to take home their DIY bee house to place in their garden or yard.
At 2 p.m., volunteers with Border Free Bees will give a 15-minute talk about native pollinators and explain why they are important and how people can help protect the species. Participants will also get pointers about the care of mason bees and watch a demonstration by The Men’s Shed on different ways to create wooden mason bee houses.
“Mason bees are more efficient than honey bees and are native to the Okanagan and many other places in North America,” adds Holmes. “People don’t have to worry about being stung, and it only takes a few hours a year to look after the bees while they will reward you with fruit and flowers and fill you with wonder.”
For more information about Border Free Bees or the event, visit: borderfreebees.com
About UBC's Okanagan campus
UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world.
To find out more, visit: ok.ubc.ca.