KPU Wild Spaces hosts pollinator spotlight
Without pollinators, breakfast might be just bread and coffee
Attendees looking for pollinators in the KSA community garden at the Surrey campus during the KPU Wild Spaces event on May 9. (Yohani Weheragama)
On May 9 at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus, KPU Wild Spaces hosted “Bee the Change: Pollinator Biodiversity Loss and Taking Climate Action,” to highlight the importance of pollinators.
The event featured guest speaker Aldona Czajewska, climate action engagement and outreach coordinator at the University of British Columbia who has experience working as an entomologist, a scientist who works with insects.
KPU Wild Spaces is an interdisciplinary, teaching-learning hub focused on intentional outdoor education.
The event had two parts. The first took place inside the Fir building where Czajewska discussed how to identify common pollinators and the critical role they play in our food system.
Czajewska said at least 75 per cent of our food is pollinated, and without pollinators “we wouldn’t have a lot of food on our plates and we [would] also suffer the consequences of food insecurity.”
This was further demonstrated by an activity where in teams, attendees were given paper cut outs of food and a plate, and were told to place anything they thought needed pollinators on the plates.
Most teams had piled coffee, fruits like apples or berries, and vegetables onto the plates. Some of the foods remaining included potatoes, wheat, and beets.
Afterwards, some key pollinators and their identifiers were explained, including types of bees, wasps, flies, beetles, and butterflies.
Czajewska says she wants people to think beyond just honey bees when it comes to essential pollinators. Honey bees tend to be the face of “Save the Bees” campaigns, but often aren’t native or as critical to food security as some, she says.
In the outdoor portion of the event, attendees were given a sheet and asked to tally how many pollinators they spotted at the Kwantlen Student Association community garden. Keeping an eye out for pollinators such as the sweat bee, attendees could be seen peering down and chatting with excitement when they caught sight of a wasp or fly.
Organizer of KPU Wild Spaces Lee Beavington says events like these provide an opportunity to bring together people across various disciplines.
“This is a way to open that space up a bit so we can have these conversations that there often isn’t space or time for,” Beavington says.
Without pollinators, our breakfast would consist merely of a slice of bread and maybe some coffee, he says.
“We all see pollinators every day. We’re going to walk through grass, plants, or trees that have flowers, something that’s very relevant to our daily lives,” Beavington says. “The clear connections to climate change and the climate crisis — that the idea that if temperatures and … pollinators drastically change — then look at our breakfast, it’s toast and maybe coffee.”
“It’s pretty clear that ‘Hey, this is going to have direct effect on our everyday lives if we don’t do something about it.”
Ranjot Sidhu, an attendee and KPU student, says the event was a great experience.
“We can learn with our elders … [and] we can make friends.”
Beavington hopes this event allows people to think about pollinators’ connection to the climate crisis and what we can do about it.
As a consequence of climate change, pollinators are affected by range shifts, habitat loss, and loss of biodiversity, Czajewska says, adding that we can help.
“The more we raise awareness of what’s happening, the more people will take action.”
She says it is important to increase pollinators’ habitats and be more in tune with pollinators’ needs. Individuals can also participate in citizen science projects to help scientists get accurate species counts, get involved in planting community gardens, and spread their knowledge amongst others, she says, adding students and staff can incorporate climate change and sustainability into their coursework.
This summer, KPU Wild Spaces will be hosting more events, Beavington says, including one where Erika Eliason, the associate dean of science, will be taking attendees to the Cougar Creek in Surrey, a salmon-bearing stream.
For more information about KPU Wild Spaces, visit their website at wordpress.kpu.ca/wildspaces/ or contact Beavington at lee.beavington@kpu.ca.
