Five Ways You and Your Family Can Learn More About Pollinators

• Visit beesmatter.ca. This website is one of several initiatives to work together with beekeepers, scientists, environmentalists and everyday Canadians to improve honey bee health and shed light on the many factors affecting honey bee health. Here you will find information about honey bees in Canada and how you participate in the Buzzing Gardens program. Be sure to bookmark this site for ease of reference.
• Plant a pollinator-friendly garden.  If you haven't already, sign up for the Buzzing Gardens program by visiting beesmatter.ca and they will send out a free seed packet per household while supplies last. If you have already received your seeds, it's time to pull out your gardening gear and start planting. Get your kids involved, too! 
• Add a bee bath to your garden. Because bees get thirsty, too! All you need is a shallow plate, a few rocks, and some fresh water. I used a plant pot tray and added a bunch of small rocks. The rocks serve as a landing pad. Plus, it makes for a pretty garden feature as well.

It's National Planting Week! Have you planted your Buzzing Garden yet? Share your pics and tag with #PlantforBees. #beesmatter #buzzinggardens #beebath #croplifecanada #croplife #bees #garden #nationalplantingweek #ad #twitter #wildflowers

A post shared by Diana Mancuso (@torontomom) on Jun 7, 2017 at 7:27pm PDT

• Share the Honey Bee Learning Centre. If you have school-age children, let their teachers know about the Teacher Toolkits and other learning resources they can use throughout the year within their classrooms. There are several lesson plans for grades 1 to 4 that have been designed with various Canadian curriculum in mind, complete with reproducible blackline masters.
• Pay a visit to a local farmer and/or a botanical garden. What better way to learn about the importance of pollinators than to speak directly with a farmer. You can also stop by a botanical garden to speak to experts on gardening and local plant life and to inquire about additional learning opportunities. For example, the Toronto Botanical Garden hosted a series of workshops on City Critters where the kids and I learned all about the various roles of honey bees and sampled different types of honey. We were also fortunate to participate in another session where learned about butterflies, planted a butterfly garden and released dozens of beautiful Monarch butterflies into the wild.

From June 5th to June 12th, join fellow Canadians in planting your Buzzing Garden seed kit as we celebrate National Planting Week. Each kit contains non-invasive varieties of flowering plants that are not only native to Canada, but also recommended by Pollinator Partnership Canada. If you haven't signed up for the program, there's still time. Simply sign up at beesmatter.ca and they will send out one seed packet per household while supplies last. It's the perfect activity the whole family can enjoy. Plus, by planting a pollinator-friendly garden, you are helping to ensure there are a variety of flowering plants blooming throughout the summer months, which means we can help improve honey bee health by providing nutritious food sources and protect a vital component of farming and food production.

• Bee Life: The Honey Bee - Grade 2 Science and Technology Unit - This unit contains a lesson plan for Understanding Life Systems: Growth and Changes in Animals, and provides an overview of the life and structure of honey bees. Concepts covered are recognizing insects, diagramming anatomy, and considering the life habits of insects. It includes two blackline masters: The Honey Bee Life Cycle and a Honey Bee Anatomy Worksheet.

• Bee Life: Plants and Flowers - Grade 3 Science and Technology Unit - This unit contains a lesson plan for the Understanding Life Systems – Growth and Changes in Plants strand, which will cover the basics of plant reproduction, diagramming, anatomy, the role pollinators play in growing crops, plant/animal relationships and an overview of the relationship we have with our food. Blackline masters include Flowers and Fruits, Plant Parts and a Plant Parts Worksheet.

One out of every three bites of food we eat is a result of pollinators like honey bees.

• Parasites - One of the biggest threats is the varroa mite that not only weaken the honey bees and shorten their life spans, they also spread viruses throughout the hives.
• Weather - Cold, long winters and harsh weather conditions can affect crops and reduce food supply for honey bees, making it difficult for them to survive.
• Disease - Like people, honey bee colonies can contract viruses, bacteria and fungal pathogens.
• Pesticides - Though new innovations in pesticide technology means they’ve become safer over the years, if used improperly pesticides could affect honey bee colonies.
• Lack of food sources - If there is not enough pollen and nectar collected during the summer months, honey bees won't have enough food to last the winter.