Burnside’s a’Buzz

Burnside’s a’Buzz about sustainability! This project was carried out from 2019 to 2021.

It was funded by City of Burnside Community Grants to highlight the importance of bees and beneficial insects to the natural environment and build wider community awareness of biodiversity through a series of community events. These included:

• During Wild Pollinator Count (10-17 November 2019) around 30 people were bee-dazzled by the fascinating life of our native Australian bees. Remko Leijs from the SA Museum shared key traits of just a few of our different bee types. We were introduced to Carpenter Bees, Cuckoo Bees, Leaf Cutter Bees and more, each seeking pollen from specific native plants and with different styles of homes. We became aware of the importance of protecting habitat for native bees and keeping gardens, parks and national parks special spaces for native bees, leaving honey bees for commercial producers rather than backyards.
• Production of a video, Native Bee Hotels in Burnside (2:31), featuring University of Adelaide’s Dr Katja Hogendoorn, about native bees and how we can provide habitat for them to thrive.
  
• The construction of Burnside’s Bee Hotel in conjunction with Magill Men’s Shed and council experts. The purpose of the bee hotel is to foster community engagement and awareness, to promote the importance of bees and beneficial insects and to showcase Burnside as a place of biodiversity. It was installed at Kensington Oval in November 2021.

To find out more about the project, please contact Linda – lcrutchett@internode.on.net.