Bees and Pollinators

Join us for a day of learning about bees and other pollinators.

This event includes a series of talks by leading pollinator and conservation scientists, designed as a kick off for the Youth Pollinator Leadership Team Program. The Youth Pollinator Leadership Team is a group of young adults that will be leading a pollinator monitoring and outreach program in the City of Victoria. While the day is part of the training process for the leadership team, we are pleased to open this up to the public so that more people can learn about our wonderful and diverse pollinators.

All ages are welcome, and everyone is invited for just a portion of the day or for the whole day.

Schedule for the Day

• 9:00am – 9:15am Welcome
• 9:15am – 10:00am Introduction to Pollinators: This talk will give an overview of why pollination is important, who are the pollinators, the amazing diversity of bees and other pollinators, what habitat they need, and how we can all help in small ways to benefit these amazing and essential creatures.
• 10:00am – 10:45am Focus on Bees: This talk will be an in-depth dive into the world of bees and will cover when (and why) they evolved, what makes a bee a bee, co-evolution, misconceptions about bees, issues that bees are facing including competition between managed and native bees, evidence for declines, gaps in our knowledge, and ways to help.
• 10:45am – 11:15am Break
• 11:15am – 12:15pm Butterflies of the Victoria Area: Victoria and surrounding areas support a unique butterfly fauna not found elsewhere in coastal BC. Local butterflies have experienced profound declines, but a lot of diversity remains. Learn about the identification of local butterflies, their needs, and what can be done to support them at home and in natural areas.
• 12:15pm – 1:00pm Lunch Break
• 1:00pm – 2:00pm Urban Habitats: Creating Space for Pollinators: Urban environments can be hostile to pollinators, but there is much we can do to make these habitats friendlier. In this talk we will discuss the crucial role that native plants play in creating pollinator-safe urban spaces. An array of native plants will be highlighted, and we will also see how these species are being used at a variety of pollinator-friendly projects in the Victoria area.
• 2:00pm – 3:00pm See the Bees (and other pollinators): Learn how to tell the difference between bees, flies, wasps and other pollinators, and learn to identify the major bee groups in this interactive session. This session will open you to a world of pollinators you may not have seen before.