The Great Canadian Bumble Bee Count 101

As part of the 100in1Day event, a global initiative to compel citizens to engage in 100 interventions in the span of one day, teams of Garden Stewards met at three different LEAF Demonstration Gardens to teach residents how to conduct their own Bumble Bee Count and care for native bee species. It was great to see people take an interest in our wild bumble bee species and a fun way to spend the weekend talking to other bee enthusiasts!

The training session for the garden stewards was held in LEAF's Learning Garden at Artscape Wychwood Barns, where we learned tips and tricks for capturing photos of wild bees in their native habitat. Why did LEAF hold a bee count training session? Tooba, LEAF’s Education and Outreach Coordinator, wrote a wonderful blog post on the importance of our native wild bee species, detailing what ecosystem services the bees provide us and the main problems that the bees are facing, including pathogens, pesticides, and climate change. 

One thing that we can do to help our wild bees, in addition to planting native trees, shrubs and wildflowers, is to participate in The Great Canadian Bumble Bee Count. This campaign, organized by Friends of the Earth Canada and Bumble Bee Watch runs from June 1 through August 15, 2016.   It marks the first of several years that the Count  will be held. The objective is to educate the public on the importance of our native bumble bee species and encourage citizen participation in scientific research and monitoring of bumble bee populations throughout Canada. Using the data collected during the event this summer and in years to come, scientists will be able to analyze native bumble bee populations and develop new conservation strategies.

Participating in the Bumble Bee Count is easy!  All you need is a camera, some blooming and open flowers, and a bit of patience.  Visit The Great Canadian Bumble Bee Count to sign up and start counting!