Bee City – Ottawa(!?)
I rarely give a second thought to bees.
It’s not that I am not a lover of the environment. (Because I am). It’s not because I don’t understand how important bees are to our ecosystem. (Because I do). They’re just not something I think about too much on the day-to-day.
Walking through the Carlingwood Mall the other day I was struck by a small sign in the middle of the busy corridor which exclaimed to the world “We’re hosting a hive!”
I did a double take.
What did that even mean?
The bees were a part of an earth day 2018 initiative – and moved in July 8th, 2018 … yet here we are in September and I was only really taking notice of it now. Carlingwood explains, “We gave ourselves the mission to ACT-Always Consider Tomorrow- for bees. By doing research, we saw that there are many things we all can do to help Bees.” The hive lives on the roof top of the mall – a point of pride for the local community.
It’s exciting to see our community making such a positive impact and I am a true believer that little by little, those small actions can add up.
Ottawa residents are on a push to see the nation’s capital obtain Bee City status. CBC news reports that the petition “calls on the city to ‘take the sting out of urban beekeeping’ by ‘recognizing that urban beekeeping is an important part of the city’s food security strategy’ and ‘increasing pollinator gardens and the maintenance of existing greenspaces,’ among other things”
Across the nation there are currently 21 bee cities, 10 bee businesses, and 21 bee schools. Bee City Canada asserts that a “Bee City [status] sets an example and inspires residents with the knowledge that they all have a role to play. Mentoring other municipalities and First Nations across the country to take action and encouraging them to join the Bee City family.”
Founded in 2015 Bee City Canada is on a mission “to inspire cities, towns, First Nations, schools, businesses and other organizations to take action to protect pollinators”
It’s always exciting to learn about the things our neighbours are doing to make the world a better place. We are so grateful to live in such an amazing community.
What are you doing to make an impact for tomorrow, today?
Bee Happy!
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