Introduction

Although the science is an integral part of our project, we put some emphasis on human practices as well. Every team member contributed so that we could have a diverse and engaging set of human practices. We reached out to many individuals, including one of our MLAs, the Minister of Environment, to get her support for our project. We talked to rural beekeepers in Southern Alberta to ask about the viability of our project, and to our city council. We also spoke with an urban planner to see how we could make our city more “bee-friendly”. We interacted with the public by handing out seed packets in parks, and informing them about the decline of bees and the city by-law that makes urban bee-keeping illegal. Many people signed a petition we created to remove this by-law. To promote iGEM, we went to two middle schools to tell the students a little bit about our project and what iGEM is.

Government

Our project focuses on combatting Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomonon in which the majority of the worker bees die or leave the queen behind, in a variety of ways, including genetic engineering and community outreach. One method of supporting the bee population, and thus tackling Colony Collapse Disorder, is through urban beekeeping. Urban beekeeping has proven successful in many regions of Canada, but it is illegal within Lethbridge city limits. In order to understand the implications of this bylaw, and potentially amend it, we decided to reach out to local policymakers and urban beekeepers.

City Council By-Law

Prior to 1983, residents of the City of Lethbridge were able to beekeep within city limits. However, an amendment to Bylaw 3383 now prevents residents from being able to do so. In Southern Alberta, bee populations are currently decreasing dramatically, with reports saying that North American beekeepers are losing approximately one third of their bees each year. As a way to help the bee population, our team made it a goal to try and have this bylaw amended to allow urban beekeeping within city limits.

We drafted a petition to have residents of our city sign, indicating that signatories support urban beekeeping in Lethbridge. As we talked to residents, they agreed that bees play a crucial role in our lives and that we need them in order to survive.

After petitioning city residents, we presented to our city council about what we wanted to change in our city.

Meeting with MLA—Shannon Phillips

Shannon Phillips, the Member of Legislative Assembly for Lethbridge West, and the Minister of Environment, as well as the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women is a local representative for the provincial government. Minister Phillips showed support for our project. She showed respect for our work as well as that of other scientists, stating that “there needs to be a healthy respect for scientific method, [and] for evidence based decision making”. She also recognized that our society may be entering “a phase of people being skeptical of science”. She felt that the only way to overcome this obstacle is through education. Minister Phillips also showed support for genetic engineering in general, stating that she “[doesn’t] see any problem with genetic engineering at large and in most of its applications”.

Integrated Human Practices

Beekeepers Visit and Interview

Following this interview, we were able to get in contact with two urban beekeepers. They allowed two of our team members and an advisor to tour their beehives and to speak with them about their experience with urban beekeeping. The beehives were surprisingly inconspicuous. Both of their neighbours are aware of their beekeeping practice, and have not had any issues with the bees, noting that they rarely notice them. The beekeepers did mention that in urban beekeeping, in comparison to commercial beekeeping, you need to be “really diligent with hive management” in order to control swarms, which may instill fear in citizens. When asked about their speculations on why the bylaw may exist, the beekeepers (who asked to remain anonymous) reported a heavy stigma surrounding beekeeping, and a lack of education on the subject. They felt that legislators and the general public were uneducated, and therefore fearful of urban beekeeping. The beekeepers also provided some advice on how urban beekeeping could be successful in Lethbridge. They stated that beekeeping was so easy in B.C. due to the “excellent beekeeping community”. Based on their experience with beekeeping in B.C., they recognized that an essential service to facilitate urban beekeeping is a beekeeping club. The explained that this would help in a variety of ways: That it would provide a source of information and support for new beekeepers, a collective organization to share tool, information, and expertise, and would also be a great resource for the government to fall back on in the case of a problem arising. They also mentioned that holding large-scale events such as press conferences may be counter-productive and further scare the community, and that it is more effective to educate people in smaller, more personal ways. They suggested beginning with those “who are comfortable and who understand” urban beekeeping. We took this into account with our human practices approaches, including the seed bombs and speaking to smaller groups rather than holding large presentations or events. Additionally, the beekeepers mentioned combining the more common gardening passion with beekeeping hobbyists, to create a partnership where both pollination and the growth of food sources can occur. We also asked them if they had had any experiences with mites. They stated that over their beekeeping career they have certainly experienced this. They noted, however, that it has not been an issue in Lethbridge thus far. We also asked them for their opinion on the feasibility and practicality of our project, and they raised concerns regarding contamination of the honey harvest. Specifically, there was concern over how the public would feel about the presence of oxalic acid in “honey, which is seen as such a natural product”. This is a factor which we have considered throughout the development of our project.

In general, beekeeping in Lethbridge has a relatively non-existent past, but a bright future. Minister Shannon Phillips provided valuable insight on both legal and civilian opinions of urban beekeeping, while the urban beekeepers provided information on the effectiveness and feasibility of urban beekeeping, and on ways to facilitate it within city limits. The questions, comments, opinions, and concerns of community were taken into consideration when developing our construct, and when evaluating the safety and ethics of our project.

Interview with Surgeon

We interviewed plastic surgeon Dr. John Hasell

Here is what he had to say:

What is the impact that biofilms have on your industry?
I am a Plastic Surgeon. The equipment I use in surgery is sterilized by chemical or steam methods [which do] eradicate the biofilm. There are probably reservoirs of bacteria in our hospital or offices that aren’t completely eradicated by standard cleaning regimens. This can occur in areas we used to use to treat patients such as whirlpool tubs and hubbard tanks. Because of biofilms and impossibility in eradicating the bacteria in these tubs and tanks, these are now largely obsolete in treating burn patients, patients with wounds, or patients with immunologic compromise.

What cleaning techniques do you currently use against biofilms on your equipment? How effective are they?
Housekeeping is largely responsible for sterilizing the hospital, patient rooms, washrooms, etc. I am not sure of their current regimen or its success in treating biofilms.

How often do you encounter biofilms in your practice?
The Biofilms I deal with are in vivo. Part of my job is treating chronic ulcers (diabetic, neuropathic, etc) and chronic wounds. These are particularly difficult because of biofilms. Standard topical antimicrobials and even systemic antimicrobials are not all that effective. Any tissue-safe enzymatic agent that could break down this barrier would definitely be an asset.

I also deal with biofilms in prosthetics. These prosthetics may be hardware used in skeletal fixation or joints, or prostheses used in breast reconstruction. Once these prosthetics become bacterial colonized or form a biofilm they largely have to be removed and replaced. Biofilms can also contribute to scar formation. Their low grade inflammation (without full blown infection) has been theorized to cause breast capsular contractures (which cause distortion and hardening of breast implants in cosmetic and reconstructive patients). This low grade inflammation can also cause increased scar formation around total joint replacements (hips and knees) causing reduced range of motion and stiffness.

The best product I could envision would be a gentle cleansing agent that can be used in vivo, and thus on chronic wounds, or to safely wash out total joints or prosthetic devices and be able to safely reuse them in the same patient..

Community

Seed bombs

We made seed bombs to help spread awareness about the decline of bees, while simultaneously promoting bee population growth. A seed bomb is a ball of soil, clay, water, and seeds. The idea is that people plant them in empty lots, undeveloped fields, or even their backyards so that flowers can grow, giving the bees more access to food. We used seeds from Smooth Blue Aster, Purple Prairie Clover, and Prairie Coneflower to make our seed bombs because they are native to Southern Alberta, and would not be considered an invasive species.

We distributed seed bombs to members of the public and informed them about our project and the plight of the bees. Many people accepted our project and showed their support by signing a petition that supported urban beekeeping in Lethbridge, which is currently illegal.

Radio Interview

A local radio station named CJOC interviewed one of our members, Dinula De Silva, about our project after our presentation to City Council. They asked us questions about urban beekeeping in Lethbridge and why it would be beneficial to our community. Also, they asked about urban beekeeping in larger cities such as Calgary and Edmonton, and its success. We also gave them information about what iGEM is and the Jamboree in Boston.