A Bee Happy Garden Workshop – Kitchen and Garden Workshop Series #1

Mason bee emerging in March
photo Jenny Humphrey

Cranbrook Food Action Committee and Wildsight Kimberley/Cranbrook are pleased to announce the first garden workshop of the spring, A Bee Happy Garden, is scheduled for June 9^th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Kimberley Open Gate Garden and June 11th from 6 to 8 pm at the Cranbrook Public Produce Garden. The cost is $10 for Wildsight members and $15 for non-members.

Bees help us by pollinating 1/3 of our food supply and now it’s time we help them!  Honey bees usually get all the credit but there are thousands of different species. Both the mason (also known as orchard or blue orchard) and leafcutter bees are excellent pollinators. It would take 60 honey bees to pollinate 12lbs of cherries, but only 1 mason bee to do the same work (crownbees.com). These overlooked bees are gentle natured, do not produce honey and are resistant to the type of mites currently devastating honey bee populations. 

This two hour workshop will cover general information about mason and leafcutter bees including how to protect our native bees, how to create a bee habitat in your yard, and how to care for nesting bees. The workshop also includes a hands on component of building a bee house for your garden!  Participants will be exposed to lots of tips and tricks on how to care for these wonderful little pollinators.

The Bee Happy Garden Workshop is 1 of 3 spring workshops devoted to enhancing the garden bounty and teaching new and exciting uses for your harvest. The next workshop in the series is the We Love Rhubarb Kitchen Workshop on Tuesday June 16th in Kimberley and Thursday June 18th in Cranbrook. The three part spring series concludes with Soil Mates Companion Planting Garden Workshop Tuesday July 7th in Kimberley and Wednesday July 8th in Cranbrook.  These workshops have been made possible by funding from the Real Estate Foundation of BC.

To register or find out more about the workshops visit www.wildsight.ca/kimcran or call 250-427-9325. Register soon to avoid disappointment.  To connect with the Cranbrook Public Produce Garden visit Cranbrook Food Action Committee on Facebook or email cranbrookfood@gmail.com. To learn more about the Kimberley Open Gate Garden please contact dirk@wildsight.ca.

Mason bee just hatched in March

Mason bee hotels facing east - Jenny Humphrey garden

Mason bee plugs Spring 2015, Jenny Humphrey garden