Project Bee
Save the Bees
Pollinators are essential for food production and the balance of ecosystems. Bees of all kinds are nature’s finest pollinators—they pollinate our fruits, vegetables, and nuts, which provide close to 70% of the world’s nutrition—and for the past several decades, beekeepers have noticed a dramatic decline in the honeybee population as well as high rates of colony collapse. So, Wintergreen Studios is doing our part to respond to this environmental crisis by supporting and encouraging pollinators. Our apiary is home to hundreds of thousands of bees in the summer months. And we are happy to report that there are many wild bees in our gardens, too. Those solitary creatures that do so much to pollinate the food we eat. We have homes for them as well. And so, wild and domestic live together on our land.
With funding from the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area and The Davies Charitable Foundation, we built and installed three beautifully hand-painted hives in May 2019. Just a few weeks later, 6,000 honeybees moved in and by the end of the summer there were over 150,000!
With support from the Limestone Beekeepers’ Guild, we were able to offer four educational workshops: Hive Painting (and preparing for honeybees), Beekeeping 101, Honey Extraction & Tasting, and Winter Wrapping.
We’re happy to report that all of the hives overwintered and thrived throughout 2020, while the pandemic raged on, and in June 2021 we added another hive: so now we are four.
We received a substantial grant from TD Friends of the Environment to support Project Bee for the 2020-2021 school year. Scroll down to learn more about how we have partnered with local schools to plant pollinator gardens.
Learn about Project Bee activities with Loughborough Public School and Brooke Valley School, funded by TD FEF (2020-2021).
9th Meadow Apiary
This buzzing bee village is located just south of our lodge in what was once called Field Number 9, when the land was farmed many decades ago. And so, we named our hives 9th Meadow Apiary. We harvested our first honey in the autumn of 2019.
Interested in getting involved with Project Bee?
Get your hands sticky as a volunteer beekeeper in the 9th Meadow Apiary!
Bee City Canada
On September 16, 2019, Wintergreen Studios became the 29th Bee City School in Canada! We are now part of a national network of schools and institutions committed to helping native bees thrive.
We have helped grow that national network by introducing three new schools to Bee City Canada, working with them directly on their applications and supporting them with workshops to help with garden planning and planting. Mulberry School joined in 2020; in 2021, both Loughborough Public School and Brooke Valley School became Bee City Canada schools. The 2021 school programs were supported by a grant from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.
Resources
Virtual Learning
Free Live virtual sessions designed to teach primary students (K-G6) about pollinators and their impact on the environment.
Pollinator Pledge
Take the Canada-wide Pollinator Protection Pledge and help protect pollinators and their habitats.
Plant a Garden
This garden planting guide will help you see if there are places where you can create more habitat.
About those native bees…
Native (or wild) bees are essential. Did you know that there are more than 400 species of wild bees in Ontario?
Check out these common (and not so common) native bees.
Many native bees are solitary: unlike our domestic bees in the 9th Meadow Apiary, they don’t live in a hive. They make their homes in the ground, or in a hollow cavity, such as a stem in a plant or a human-made bee hotel (check out how to make one in our Land Art activities). Female bees lay their eggs, leave a bit of pollen for their offspring, and if all goes well, the next generation thrives.
The bumble bee is native. Can you identify it from the gallery below? (HINT: It’s not the metallic green ones…). Learn more about bumble bees through the Bumble Bee Watch community science project.
Our Vision
To create year-round programming that will educate the public and enhance local bee populations. We will:
1. Offer a sanctuary for honeybees at Wintergreen Studios through the maintenance and care of our hives.
2. Enhance native plantings in Wintergreen Studios’ gardens, to give wild and domestic pollinators the sustenance to shine.
3. Make our apiary a central teaching space, enriched by partnerships with local schools and regional, provincial, and national bee organizations.
4. Gather and use honey produced by our bees to sweeten our locally-sourced meals at Wintergreen Studios.
