A News Advance from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper
Populations of bees are crashing across North America and some who see them only as insects with stingers may not mind that so much.
But bees are also the world’s greatest pollinators of blossoming flowers and in regions like Niagara, where fruit orchards play such an important role in our economy, a crash in their numbers could prove catastrophic for a key industry. … not to leave out the impact it could have on our food supply.
At a public meeting, organized by the St. Catharines and District Council of Women this coming Thursday, October 10th at8 p.m. at the St. Catharines Centennial on 54 Church Street in that city, the question of why bee populations are threatened and what their loss could mean for our food crops will be addressed. Niagara area beekeeper and chair of the Niagara Beeway Organization, George Scott, will be the key speaker at this free public meeting in the downtown library’s Mills Room.
There is growing suspicion that a group of neoicotinoid pesticides, used In corn, soy beans and other crops grown in Canada, is responsible for the decline in bee populations. But Health Canada, provincial governments and the producers and users of these chemicals are questioning this charge and what could be a lengthy review is now underway in Ontario.
Those concerned about the potential impact of this pesticide group on bee populations fear that a review may be a stalling tactic that delays action that might very well include banning the chemicals until it is too late.
Please join the St. Catharines and District Council of Women and its 19 affiliated member groups across the region in exploring this important topic.
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