These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity.
Liam Sisson wants to teach you about bees. This 19-year-old University of British Columbia science student from Kelowna, B.C., spends his summers keeping bees and hosting guided beekeeping tours for visitors.
Tell us about your work.
Arlo's Honey Farm employs me during the summers to keep their bees and help with other work, like purifying the beeswax for candles, bottling and labelling honey for sale, and minding the store.
Bees are calmest in the early morning before they get hot. The reality of climate change means the number of days over 35 C is increasing, so we start as early as 6:30 or 7 a.m. We visit each hive at least once every two weeks and check the health of the bees, any disease indicators and their honey production. In the afternoons, I love to give educational tours to tourists, especially when they bring their children and I get to introduce them to this fascinating species.
At UBC, I am studying microbiology and immunology. Last year, I gave a presentation to the faculty about some of the ways humans have been using honey for wound sterilization and mummification for thousands of years. These days there is interest in propolis, a bee resin, for treating bacterial infections and reducing inflammation.
How did you get into this work?
I moved with my parents from Calgary to the Okanagan when I was seven and was delighted to be able to start gardening. I was a serious “homesteader” and grew many things from tomatoes to herbs. As I learned more about how to grow food, I also learned about plant symbiosis and eventually, the importance of bees for pollination. Once I understood that marigolds keep pests away and attract pollinators, I saw them as more than just pretty flowers and planted a lot of them!
In 2018, when I was 13, I wanted to have a hive. The City of Kelowna did not allow that in our backyard, so I volunteered to learn from experience at Arlo’s Farm. That turned into paid work the following summer. My interest in bees shaped my choice of studies.
What makes it hard?
Bees are so obviously dependent on their environment. Climate change is an enormous threat. When it is too hot, the male drones die. This reduces the fertility of the hive dramatically. Bees survive cold by clustering, but if the temperature changes rapidly, even 20 degrees from day to night, they don't have time to gather together. If it is smoky, bees will stay in their hives. This means they fly less and pollination decreases. To bees, smoke means fire, and they prepare for burnt landscapes by gorging on their own honey. We harvest less, and if they eat their stores, they are more vulnerable in winter. Some estimate that 50 per cent of honey bee colonies in the Okanagan die every year.
Honey bees are not native to Canada or the Okanagan. Humans brought them to pollinate the apple trees they carried here from Europe. Native bumble and mason bees are even more susceptible to climate change, but do not have humans tending them. We also have to be careful not to overuse honey bees. We need additional pollination, but if we have too many honey bees, the land cannot sustain the others. Humans are still learning that balancing act.
What gives you hope?
Arlo’s Farm works with fruit growers in the region to protect bee health. For example, Tantalus Vineyards inter-grows flower and other pollinator-friendly crops with its grapes. There is a lot of interest amongst farmers in understanding how the use of pesticides, like neonicotinoids, destroys bee populations.
Scientists are devoting more time to the study of bee health. I am heartened that the University of Guelph has just set up a research institute to better understand the relationship between bees, food security and sustainability.
More and more people are interested in growing more of their own food, and this necessarily leads to an interest in bees.
Finally, the families who care enough to bring their children to learn about bees give me hope that awareness in the next generation is growing.
What do you see if we get this right?
We prioritize regenerative farming and supporting biodiversity as important keys to a secure future.
What would you like to say to other young people?
Grow some food, even if it is only in a pot. Ask questions about where your food comes from. Be curious about the stories behind the pots of honey on your table. You will grow.
What about older readers?
It is important to acknowledge that we have grown a lot of food using mono-cultural practices, but we have damaged our ability to sustain our food supply in the process. If you grow your own food, you will fall in love with the soil and probably also the bees. If we are to protect what we love, we have to do things differently.
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