The David Suzuki Foundation has a new enemy in its climate crusade: the lowly — some would say lovely — honey bee..After years of encouraging and educating backyard beekeepers on how to raise and feed the perky pollinators, Canada’s elder enviro activist is now telling them buzz off..That’s because a study from Concordia University in Montreal suggests urban bees are squeezing out more than 150 species of wild bees that have been pollinating the local flora for thousands of years..Jode Roberts, manager of the David Suzuki Foundation’s Rewilding Communities program and an urban beekeeper based in Toronto, agrees with the study’s findings. .“This is a wake-up call for beekeepers like me,” Roberts said. “This spring, I am committing to give up urban beekeeping to better support the hundreds of species of wild bees that need our help.”.Decades of dire warnings over the decline of the essential pollinators and the potential impact on food chains prompted urban hippies to set up hives anywhere they can find — in backyards, on terraces and even the roofs of shops and grocery stores. ‘Enlightened’ municipalities — including Calgary — amended bylaws and zoning to allow the practice..The number of hives on the island of Montreal skyrocketed from less than 250 to almost 3,000 between 2013 and 2020, a 1,200% increase in less than a decade. This surge in urban beekeeping is crowding out wild bee populations, the number of which declined over the same period in areas with the highest colony densities..“Most of our wild bees nest in the ground, similar to places where you might see an ant’s nest,” said study lead author Gail MacInnis, research scientist at Canada’s National Bee Diagnostic Centre..“So even leaving a bare patch of soil in your backyard can help wild bees, and is far less work than caring for a honeybee hive.”.The study authors even managed to take a dig at urban chicken breeders, another cause of the urban eco-woke. .“Just as we wouldn’t advocate keeping backyard chickens to save the birds, we shouldn’t look to beekeeping to save the bees,” researcher Carly Ziter said..“It’s important our intentions line up with our impact.”.Roberts noted that while urban beekeeping has its benefits, it must be approached with caution..“We’re not saying that beekeeping is inherently bad,” he said..“It can be a great way to support local food production and raise awareness. However, we need to be mindful of the potential negative impacts on our wild bee populations and take steps to mitigate them.”
The David Suzuki Foundation has a new enemy in its climate crusade: the lowly — some would say lovely — honey bee..After years of encouraging and educating backyard beekeepers on how to raise and feed the perky pollinators, Canada’s elder enviro activist is now telling them buzz off..That’s because a study from Concordia University in Montreal suggests urban bees are squeezing out more than 150 species of wild bees that have been pollinating the local flora for thousands of years..Jode Roberts, manager of the David Suzuki Foundation’s Rewilding Communities program and an urban beekeeper based in Toronto, agrees with the study’s findings. .“This is a wake-up call for beekeepers like me,” Roberts said. “This spring, I am committing to give up urban beekeeping to better support the hundreds of species of wild bees that need our help.”.Decades of dire warnings over the decline of the essential pollinators and the potential impact on food chains prompted urban hippies to set up hives anywhere they can find — in backyards, on terraces and even the roofs of shops and grocery stores. ‘Enlightened’ municipalities — including Calgary — amended bylaws and zoning to allow the practice..The number of hives on the island of Montreal skyrocketed from less than 250 to almost 3,000 between 2013 and 2020, a 1,200% increase in less than a decade. This surge in urban beekeeping is crowding out wild bee populations, the number of which declined over the same period in areas with the highest colony densities..“Most of our wild bees nest in the ground, similar to places where you might see an ant’s nest,” said study lead author Gail MacInnis, research scientist at Canada’s National Bee Diagnostic Centre..“So even leaving a bare patch of soil in your backyard can help wild bees, and is far less work than caring for a honeybee hive.”.The study authors even managed to take a dig at urban chicken breeders, another cause of the urban eco-woke. .“Just as we wouldn’t advocate keeping backyard chickens to save the birds, we shouldn’t look to beekeeping to save the bees,” researcher Carly Ziter said..“It’s important our intentions line up with our impact.”.Roberts noted that while urban beekeeping has its benefits, it must be approached with caution..“We’re not saying that beekeeping is inherently bad,” he said..“It can be a great way to support local food production and raise awareness. However, we need to be mindful of the potential negative impacts on our wild bee populations and take steps to mitigate them.”
