You know about bees and butterflies, but did you know that there are over 1000 species of pollinating insects in Canada? Together they are an indispensable natural resource, and their daily work is essential for over a billion dollars of apples, pears, cucumbers, melons, berries, and many other kinds of Canadian farm produce. These beneficial insects are under pressure from loss of habitat, loss of food sources, disease, and pesticides. As insect populations are threatened, so are the fruit and vegetable produce, and the wild ecosystems that depend on these pollinators.

Just in time for planting season ... Are you wondering which plants will benefit pollinators in your garden? Check out OUR PLANT GUIDE for pollinator by season, complete with photos, to help you design your bee-friendly garden.

Announcing Bee Friendly Farming^® Bee Forage Mini-Grants Due June 30^th, 2013

Congratulations to Carol Dunk, past president of the Ontario Horticultural Society, who won the

Congratulations to Don and Marie Ruzicka of Sunrise Farm in Killam, AB, who won the

Growers and Farmers ... be sure to click on these resources

Introducing ... BEE FRIENDLY FARMING^® and GARDENING^®

The use of this logo indicates that your agricultural practices encourage and improve pollinator health. To self-certify and find out more, click here Partners for Sustainable Pollination

R E S O U R C E S for B e e F r i e n d l y F a r m i n g ^®(Gardening too!)

Most of Canada is included within the Pollinator Conservation Resource Centre regions. Simply click on the region in which you live. If you live in the Yukon, Northwest or Nunavut Territories, use the resources listed below, starting with the Evergreen Ecozones.

Although the regional guides to pollinator-friendly plants from the Pollinator Partnership are currently specific to the United States, there is much overlap with the Canadian provinces. There is quite a bit of valuable information to be gleaned from these guides.

If you really want to be more specific in matching plants in the ecozone that you live in, the Evergreen Native Plant Database is the place for you! First determine your ecozone on this map. Then choose the "Advanced Search" option in the Native Plant Database. You may then indicate your ecozone and scroll further down, under the Miscellaneous heading, where you can check off "Attracts Wildlife" and choose which wildlife to specify.

Announcing Bee Friendly Farming^® Bee Forage Mini-Grants

Download application

Partners for Sustainable Pollination, the non-profit organization that administrates the Bee Friendly Farming^® program in the United States and Canada, has $3,000 available for mini-grants for projects which increase pollinator habitat and forage for bees. To be eligible, you must be a Certified Bee Friendly Farmer or Certified Bee Friendly Gardener with Partners for Sustainable Pollination. If you are interested in applying for a grant but are not yet certified, get BFF or BFG certified. Grant applications must be submitted by June 30, 2013. Download the mini-grant application above the photo.

Pollinator Conservation Digital Library

The Pollinator Conservation Digital Library also lists plants and their pollinators. However, you generally need to know the Latin name of the flora you are searching; or you need to know the Latin name of a particular bee to find a list of plants that they like.

Making Native Bee Nests

Native bees such as Mason, Leafcutter, Mining, Sweat and Bumblebees are important and interesting pollinators you can attract to your garden by providing habitat that can be purely functional, or can double as garden art!

When constructing native bee nests, we do advise you on three aspects:
1) do your best to use natural materials, found outside, but 2) do not use cedar wood, as it has insecticidal properties (hence the reason it lasts so well in outdoor construction) and 3) ensure that the lengths of your bee condos are at least 8" long, to maintain brood sex ratios.

Consider drilling holes in stumps or logs from a felled tree... collect twigs and branches...hang bundles of bamboo or hollow shrub stems...build small gravel or rock piles in sunny locations. When collecting your natural materials, ensure there is not a native bee or two nesting there already! If you’d prefer to reclaim rather than gather wood, perhaps there is a college or shop in your neighbourhood that generates wood waste, in the form of small pieces of 2x4 (not pressure treated!). Generally, you can pick this up for free.

The following links will take you to both basic and more elaborate plans that may inspire you to design your own "insect hotels!"General information on Native Nesting Sites
Bee Gardens
Pollination Guelph’s Native Nests
Xerces Society’s Native Nests
NAPPC’s Home-Made Sweet Homes
Blue Orchard Mason Bee home
Leafcutter Bee home
Insect Hotels
Elaborate Insect Hotels, Mansions & Dwellings
Scroll down this David Suzuki page and watch Lindsay Coulter “Queen of Green” give you some pointers
Watch this YouTube video showing German Insect Hotels
Watch Leafcutter Bees using these British nests

POLLINATORS are the insects that pollinate flowers