Bees, Hornets and Wasps of the World [visual guide]

Identifying bees, hornets, and wasps around the world.

Seed Bombs: A Bee Friendly Craft

Now, we know you're wondering: what is a seed bomb?

It's really quite simple. It's a tool invented by 'guerrilla' gardeners to allow them to get plants into areas not easily accessible or where traditional methods of gardening would not be possible. That abandoned, but fenced off lot? Perfect! An lonely median on a busy street? Challenge accepted! Guerrilla Gardening has a great page displaying several more inventive designs and a brief history of the seed bomb.

What we used in our was red clay, newspaper (optional), compost, soil and seeds. Essentially you want to create a thick paste that will hold the seeds and be fairly firm when dried, but is easily dissolved in water. In our mix we used Dutch White Clover kindly donated to us by Homesteader's Emporium.

All of the ingredients were pretty easy to find. Almost everything can be bought from your local shops. We sourced our clay from a craft store, but depending on where you are it can all be bought at a garden centre. 

Clover seeds! So tiny!

Once you have all the ingredients together, it's time to get messy! Get a nice big bucket and mix up your base with a little water, using just enough to make a thick paste. Once it's all mixed up add the seeds. Optionally, add everything all at once and mix away. You may want to get some small children to do this for you, they are excellent at mud mixing.

Tanya was kind enough to do all the 'dirty' work. 

Once the mix is ready, make balls out of them. We made about 1/4 cup balls, and laid them out in the sun to dry. We even had a little neighbourhood helper pop over while we (read: Tanya) were doing this.

Almost look good enough to eat! Just kidding, we had muffins and cookies instead. 

Overall, it's a pretty simple and fun way to get gardening.

If you want to know more about seed bombs check out the Wiki page on it. Heavy Petal also has a great step by step guide for seed bombs! 

Looking for some more ideas or supplies for gardening, bee keeping or just about any DIY fancy, Homesteader's Emporium is just off Princess and Hastings in Vancouver, BC. Not only did they donate the most important ingredient to our seed bombs, but they're also a great resource for finding supplies for everything from cheese making to bee keeping. 

Happy seeding! 

More than Bees (and honey!)

With the warmer weather comes all the joys of springtime, and among those are our friends the bees! To welcome these lovely creatures back into our gardens and our minds, BTF will be hosting a movie screening at Kiwassa Neighbourhood House. After the movie we'll be discussing the topics in the film, and how to keep your garden as bee friendly as possible. All participants will also have an opportunity to take home a lovely seed bomb made with bee friendly flowers. 

Mark your calendar for this free event on April 11th, 4:30 pm at Kiwassa. 

The Foreign Honey Bee

There are around 20,000 bee species worldwide.
North America has about 5,000 bee species.
On the West Coast we have approximately 430 species of native bees.
In Vancouver alone there are 56 different species of native bees...

And that doesn't include the honey bee.
Learn more about what caused the honey bee to spread from its European origin to the world over at one of our upcoming workshops:
beethefuture.eventbrite.com




Here are a few photos from a beekeeping class organized by the Environmental Youth Alliance. Thanks to Erin for bringing her amazing pizza box bee specimens to class!

All About Our Upcoming Honey Bee Workshops

The harvest season is finally here!
Join Bee The Future in learning about a bee that helped to pollinate your fruits and veggies. The honey bee is well know for its honey, but there are many other things to know about the hardworking bee.

Sept 20 - All About Beeswax: learn about beeswax, how it's made, how it has been used in the past and present and what are the benefits to this amazing bee product. We will be making beeswax lotion samples! Bring your own glass container. Snacks provided along with samples of local honey!

Sept 21 - Stone Soup (Lunch and Learn): enjoy an amazing stone soup! Bring a vegetable from your garden harvest or local vegetable to contribute to the soup. We will be making the soup as a group, and enjoying an engaging conversation about honey bees in this Lunch and Learn event. Bring your own bowl, spoon and inner poet! (There may be a small poetry slam)

Sept 27 - The Vanishing of the Bees: there is trouble in hives all over the world. With record disappearances of whole bee colonies, some are starting to worry about what this means for our food future. Join us for a documentary screening of "The Vanishing of the Bees" followed by discussion including solutions of what we can do to help the bees. Coffee, tea, juice and cookies provided.