Native Bees at McMaster
Information Box Group
About the Project
The Native Bees at McMaster project began in 2019 to support native bee species on campus. Each term students enrolled in SUSTAIN courses continue the work of their peers to further expand the project and achieve new goals with Facility Services team members. Learn more about our project below:
Native Bees are pollinator populations that are indigenous to a certain region. Ontario is home to 400 distinct types of native bee species, including solitary bees, bumble bees, and many more. These species play a fundamental role in the success of our ecosystems.
McMaster University is signatory to the Okanagan Charter and are committed to prioritizing optimal health and well-being in our community. Through the McMaster Sustainability Advisory Committee, the Native Bees at McMaster project challenges the current decline of bee populations through the creation of habitats and installation of bee homes on campus, in partnership with Facility Services. Students work to advocate and spread awareness of native bees in the local McMaster community.
In 2020, the Native Bees at McMaster project received designation as a Bee City Campus from Bee City Canada. McMaster is committed to prioritizing optimal health and well-being in our community by supporting bee populations across our campus. Learn more about Bee City Canada on their website.
McMaster Bee Homes
Take a look at all of our bee home locations on campus.
25 additional bee homes in 2021
The students and staff from the SUSTAIN 3S03 2021 cohort who installed an additional 25 bee homes on campus.
Bee homes on campus
A row of newly installed bee homes with a McMaster university plaque underneath.
Launch event
McMaster students preparing natural materials to be placed inside the solitary bee homes at our 2019 Solitary Bee Home launch event.
Installing bee homes
Carpenters from McMaster, Dwayne Massey and Robert Stevens, installing a row of Native Bee Homes at our 2019 launch event.
Preparing bee homes
Two McMaster students working on Native Bee Homes at our 2019 launch event.
Launch event
A group of six McMaster community members and Facility Services Members building Native bee homes at our 2019 launch event.
Preparing natural materials
McMaster students preparing natural materials to be placed inside the solitary bee homes at our 2019 Solitary Bee Home launch event.
Project Timeline
Students from the Academic Sustainability Programs Office and McMaster Facility Services installed an additional 25 solitary bee homes on campus, updated the map of bee home locations on campus, and updated the Facility Services website.
Students from the Academic Sustainability Programs Office received designation for McMaster University to become a Bee Certified Campus and had a plaque installed on campus. This group worked with Facility Services to plant native vegetation around solitary bee homes, increasing awareness of the significance of bees in natural ecosystems.
The Academic Sustainability Programs Office, in collaboration with McMaster Facility services, constructed and installed 50 solitary bee homes on McMaster campus. The homes were observed by students, studying the success of the locations and materials used in the homes. This student team proposed changes (pg. 37) to the construction and home locations, suggesting that future teams plant natural vegetation in areas surrounding the homes.
The Solitary Bee Project was founded by secondary student Simran Jolly. The project works to increase the population of solitary bees through education and action. This project inspired the University to protect pollinators.