Bombus bohemicus<\/em>), which is listed as endangered in Canada under the Species at Risk Act.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
So, how did this project woo the Gypsy Cuckoo to Calgary? \u201cAt its core, the project was about re-introducing native plant species and creating habitat that appeals to pollinators, and bees, specifically,\u201d says David Misfeldt, Boulevard Technician and the project manager.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The team began by seeding 0.6 hectares of median along Canyon Meadows Drive with a mix of mostly native, salt-tolerant grasses and wildflowers. \u201cFlower beds included native plants that bloom throughout the season to attract as many native bee species as possible,\u201d says Jenna Cross, Parks Ecologist and the project\u2019s vegetation expert. Since some native bees are only attracted to a single species of flower, studies are ongoing to learn which flowers they are attracted to.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Additionally, numerous types of housing and nesting sites for native pollinators were installed. These habitat enhancements include a sand bed for ground-nesting mason bees, numerous structures designed to provide habitat for cavity nesting bees, an interactive leaf-cutter bee display, bumble bee houses and associated interpretive signage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The main flower bed is the central feature built in the shape of a flower (visible from Google Earth). An important aspect that will keep the maintenance low in these flower beds is the use of a seeded ground cover instead of mulch.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This project was also an exercise in environmentally friendly construction, using recycled materials that would have otherwise made their way to the landfill. The site design included repurposed logs from a golf course where trees had to be removed, recycled crushed concrete to shape the paths around the main flower bed and the use of sandstone boulders that were taken from newer communities where new roads had just been built.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The City of Calgary Native Bee Project goes to show that even small improvements in the landscape can make a difference and improve biodiversity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":5943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,44,50],"tags":[88,87,89],"class_list":["post-5941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-posts","category-e-newsletters","category-restoration-news","tag-bee-restoration","tag-native-bees","tag-pollinators"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/westerncanada\/files\/2019\/04\/IMG_6057_web.jpg\")
<\/p>\n