Okotoks is a Bee City

• Okotoks Bee City Commitment

  

  • Create, improve, and maintain biodiversity in pollinator habitats by reducing pesticide use, planting more native plants, and by protecting natural areas like the Sheep River Valley
  • Provide educational opportunities for residents and Town staff to learn about native pollinators and how to help them thrive
  • Coordinate an annual celebration of pollinators during International Pollinator Week.
     
• How Okotoks is fulfilling its Bee City Commitment

  The Town is a pollinator-friendly community and supports initiatives that maintain habitats for pollinator (such as bees, butterflies, beetles & ants!) As a leader in Sustainability, the Town seeks to balance community expectations with environmental impacts. Here are some actions the Town has taken thus far:

  • The Town strives to utilize other weed/pest management strategies such as steam, torching, alternate groundcovers, and manual weed removal. Watch the video below to see one of the innovative ways the Town manages weeds to minimize impact on pollinators.

  • While the Town still uses some chemicals to control weeds in sports fields and other turf areas, hard work is being done to utilize pollinator friendly alternatives, as well as working to improve the pollinator habitat by replacing traditional turf with a combination of pollinator-friendly plants & ornamental grasses.

  Learn more about the Town’s Integrated Pest Management Plan and outlined practices for weed and pest management

  Weed and pest management

• What you can do to help our pollinators

  The best thing you can do to help pollinators, like wild bees, is to understand them!

  Bee City Canada has some great resources on wild bees here.

  Pollinator	How to Help/make your yards more pollinator friendly
  Solitary bees, bumble bees	Plant flowers that bloom throughout the spring and summer! Consider building a bee house for solitary bees to lay their eggs in!
  Butterflies and moths	Plant bell-like and other colourful flowers!
  Hummingbirds	Plant tube/bell shaped flowers!
  All pollinators	Participate in our pollinator week activities to increase awareness of the important role pollinators play in our lives!

  Other ways you can help

  • Choose pollinator friendly, drought tolerant plants for your yard.
    • Bonus points if you pick different plants that bloom in the spring, summer, and fall. Pollinators need food in all growing seasons!
  • Reduce insecticide or pesticide use in your yard.
  • Choose plants that naturally deter pests, such as lavender, citronella, mint, chives or garlic.
  • Plant a variety of native plants that flower all summer long to provide a food source in your yard.
  • Create a habitat for local bumble bees. Learn how from the Alberta Native Bumble Bee Council.
  • Keep wood, leaf and/or garden litter as a carpet in your yard over winter (until late spring) because pollinators may be laying their eggs and sheltering underneath.
  • Provide a shallow dish of water for a pollinator bath.
  • Leave your garden messy over the winter and wait until temperatures are consistently above 10°C in the spring before cleaning your yard.
    • Many native pollinators rely the dead leaves, stems, and seeds of plants for winter habitat.
  • Tell your friends about the importance of protecting pollinators in Okotoks.
  • Choose to xeriscape your yard. The Town offers rebates through the Water Conservation Rebate Program. 
  • Sign the Bee City Canada Pollinator Pledge.

  Did you know that almost all flowering plants need help from pollinators to produce their seeds and fruit?

• What is threatening our pollinators?

  Our pollinators are being threatened by some human activities. The available science suggests that multiple factors acting in combination may be at play, including loss of habitat and food sources, diseases, viruses and pests, and pesticide exposure. It is also known that certain pesticides can pose an immediate, or "acute", threat to bees.

  If you absolutely need to use a pesticide in your yard, make sure that you use it correctly so that you limit pollinator exposure to the chemical. These include restrictions on pesticide spraying on flowering crops or weeds where bees may be present. All precautions and directions on pesticide labels should be followed.
   

Okotoks Pollinator Week