Cute. Cuddly. Sweet. These are not words most associate with bees, but for one bee lover it’s something he hopes to change.
Peter Steiner, resident beekeeper and pollinator coordinator for the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq, is excited about the launch of the Youth Pollinator Initiative.
The program will give Indigenous youth (up to age 30) across the province beekeeping kits containing mason bee cocoons, leaf-cutter bee cocoons and some ground nesting bee cocoons, a bee hotel consisting of stacked wooden tubes and an emergent chamber consisting of an insulated chamber for hatching. The program is looking for farms near M’ikmaq communities that will allow beekeepers to set up their equipment.
Last year 7 community gardens were started in mainland M’ikmaq communities and were planted with pollinators in mind. Companion planting of food production plants and pollinator support plants was practiced, including Three Sisters planting (corn,squash, and beans in close proximity).
“By bringing pollinators into these gardens we are hoping to demonstrate that the health of community agriculture is connected to the health of these communities. If there isn’t a collection of native pollinators then plants traditionally and culturally anchored to the M’ikmaq people, such as blueberries, will not produce properly.”
The cocoons that will be distributed were collected from the community gardens last year and stored over the winter and are now ready for their new home.
“Some are already hatching inside the fridges so we have to get them out pretty quick,” said Steiner.
The best thing is that these bees are not aggressive, they do not have stingers so you will not be hurt by them.
“Being able to hatch one of these bees in your hand and not worry about being stung goes a long way to getting rid of the stigma surrounding these insects. Everyone thinks of wasps and bees as dangerous but these are nothing but little sweeties. That’s something the kids really respond to and that’s the best part of my job,” he said.
Contact Peter Steiner at psteiner@mikmawconservation.ca if you are interested in getting involved in this project.
