Team:British Columbia/Practices/BeeFarm
Bee Farm
At the UBC Farm, the UBC iGEM team participated in a summer bee research study conducted by Marika van Reeuwyk, a graduating UBC Plant and Soil Science undergraduate student for her thesis study on native bee biodiversity, their habits, and their livelihood.
Every two weeks, team members would participate in a field sampling session with other volunteers. The session consisted of sampling pollinators on specific field margins and hedgerows (vegetation) and identifying the bee and flower type. Doing so provided important data for Marika’s study, which in turn aims to increase knowledge about the welfare and importance of native bees and the practices that can best suit bee sustainability.
The study provided unique opportunities to see first-hand the complexity and diverse factors that affect pollinators and flora. We were able to learn week-by-week that the pollinator population count seemingly spikes and plunges dependent on sun coverage and associated weather. Furthermore, in concert with statements by multiple stakeholders we interviewed, we noticed how certain flora better attract pollinators than others. This cemented the idea of how encouraging gardeners to plant pollinator-friendly plants could certainly help out the population by allowing them to more easily find nutrition. We used this information to spread the word of pollinator-friendly plants at our Science World and food-market outreach activities. Lastly, despite the universally term "bees", we learned how each species is unique providing some invaluable role to keep the ecosystem healthy and farm thriving.
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UBC iGEM 2015