Power station bees

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There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the generating station in St.Catharines.

Ontario Power Generation may be known for creating electricity but it has teamed up with a local beekeeper to help grow Niagara’s declining honey bee population.

“There is roughly 800 hives, which is equivalent to 16 million bees.” Bryan Shaddock, Ontario Power Generation.

There are 19 sites set up across OPG’s various properties in Niagara. Each pallet has 4 hives on it and each hive has about 20 to 50 thousand bees inside. They have partnered with Welland Apiaries, a local bee farm.

The property is ideal for the bees because it’s close to water and far enough from people and more importantly pesticides.

Canada’s bee population has been on a rapid decline. One report cited starvation during long winters, viruses and poisoning from pesticides as reasons. The bees at the OPG are well fed and cared and the conoly has doubled in a year.

During the spring the bees are busy pollinating fruits like apples and peaches, but later this month the hives will loaded onto a truck and driven 2 000 kms to New Brunswick where they will pollinate blueberries.

“They pollinate in New Brunswick for a month. Basically these honey bees they don’t produce honey they’re for pollination purposes, so after they come back they’ll come to OPG in July and they will remain on site until November.”

The bees will then spend the winter hibernating in Welland before there back to work.