The Keys

Here are some of the things you can do to help the bees.

It doesn't take a lot to make a difference.

Here are some of the things you can do to help the bees.

It doesn't take a lot to make a difference.

Colourful wildflowers in a fild of grass.

1. Plant Flowers

Grow some native plants in your backyard, lawn, or garden. Choose a variety of flowers and shapes that bloom at different times so bees have different foods throughout early spring to late fall. Bees like the colour blue, purple, violet, white, and yellow. The flowers will bring several buzzing bees to your yard!

2. Bee Hotel

Build a bee hotel to create the perfect shelter. Use wood as the structure and include a roof to keep the hotel dry to prevent rot and mold. Fill it with bamboo sticks, logs, twigs, rolled paper, or nesting tubes of 2 to 10 millimetres. Mount it a metre above the ground facing south or southeast. Maintain annually to remove dead or diseased cells. This is a perfect spot for solitary bees to nest and lay their eggs.

3. Leave loose soil

Leaving areas of loose, bare soil in your garden allows solitary bees to dig their own holes and create nesting grounds. This is ideal for ground-dwelling bees. Bees are not able to dig through dry, compact soil so make sure the soil is not compressed.

Blue wter with bubbles and the sun shining through.

4. Provide Water

Bees rely on water every day. It keeps them hydrated and cool on hot summer days and it dilutes their nectar. Get a small, shallow dish and top it with water. It should be little enough so it would evaporate by the end of the day to discourage mosquito larvae. Add some pebbles for bees to rest on and perch.

Twigs and sticks with pink fowers and leaves.

5. Twig Bundle

It's as simple as it sounds! Collect a variety of twigs from your backyard or elsewhere in nature. Bundle them up and leave them out for bees to nest in. Brush piles, wood logs, and dead or dying trees also make adequate

homes to nest.

Two rows of yellow flowrs wit a blue sky.

6. Advocate

Make your neighbourhood bee-friendly by encouraging everyone to plant wildflowers. Start with your school, neighbours, and businesses. Inform them about the importance of solitary bees and their crucial role in our world. Together, create pollinator patches and a laneway expanding their habitat and food so bees can flourish.