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, observing they rarely notice them. The beekeepers did mention that with urban beekeeping, in comparison to commercial beekeeping, you must 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. This would help in a variety of ways. 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 small, 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 food sources can occur. We also asked them if they have experienced mites, and they stated that over their beekeeping career they have certainly experienced this, however 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 both parties were taken into consideration when developing and evaluating the construct, safety, and ethics of our project.

Interview with Medical Professional

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 and does 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, and patients with wounds, or 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. 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..

School Presentations

We presented to Grade 8. students at G.S. Lakie Middle School and Wilson Middle School in order to expand their interest in synthetic biology and iGEM. We started with a basic introduction to DNA and synthetic biology. This included an engaging experiment in which student volunteers assisted in the extraction of DNA from a banana. We also presented the biofilm and bee issues that we are tackling this year. The students were very interested in the presentations, and asked many questions. Some were even wondering how they could join the iGEM team. Overall, our presentation left a positive mark on the students.