Peter Armitage
New Bee
Greetings from Newfoundland! I'm on the board of the Newfoundland and Labrador Beekeeping Association (NLBKA). While we are a young association, having been in existence for less than three years, we have big plans with respect to expanding beekeeping in the province. We are dedicated to the protection of Newfoundland and Labrador’s (NL) honey bees and the craft of beekeeping in the province, the promotion of effective beekeeping practices through education of our members and the general public, and support for commercial and hobby beekeepers.
Our priorities to-date have been to support urban beekeeping initiatives and related municipal ordinances, lobby the provincial government with respect to enhanced regulation of honey bee and used equipment imports as well as restrictions on the importation of bumble bees for commercial pollination, organize training for entry-level beekeepers, and promote sustainable, ecologically responsible beekeeping through various public communications.
Somewhat like the Isle of Man in the U.K., we beekeepers in NL enjoy a special status in that we are free of Varroa destructor, tracheal mites, American foulbrood, European foulbrood, wax moths, Nosema ceranae, small hive beetles, and various viruses that plague honey bees elsewhere in the world. We also have relatively healthy wild bee populations, and little in the way of industrial agriculture that would threaten them and our honey bees (e.g., no known applications of neonicotinoids by farmers currently).
We would like to maintain this pathogen free status for as long as possible, for obvious reasons, and that's why we support enhanced regulation by our provincial government with respect to the importation of honey bees, bumble bees, and used beekeeping equipment.
Nonetheless, beekeeping in Newfoundland and Labrador is challenging given our short forage season. Moreover, we currently have only about 500 colonies in the province (compared to about 800 on the Isle of Man).
We want to expand beekeeping in NL in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner while at the same time protecting our native bee species. That, indeed, is the mandate of our association. Given our current, relatively pathogen-free status, we think we may be able to assist beekeepers elsewhere in the world with initiatives to protect honey bees, although what these initiatives are remains to be seen. We don’t think we can achieve our long term goals in isolation from what beekeepers are doing in the rest of Canada, and we recognize that we are part of a larger community sharing many of the same values, aspirations, and concerns. www.nlbeekeeping.ca
Our priorities to-date have been to support urban beekeeping initiatives and related municipal ordinances, lobby the provincial government with respect to enhanced regulation of honey bee and used equipment imports as well as restrictions on the importation of bumble bees for commercial pollination, organize training for entry-level beekeepers, and promote sustainable, ecologically responsible beekeeping through various public communications.
Somewhat like the Isle of Man in the U.K., we beekeepers in NL enjoy a special status in that we are free of Varroa destructor, tracheal mites, American foulbrood, European foulbrood, wax moths, Nosema ceranae, small hive beetles, and various viruses that plague honey bees elsewhere in the world. We also have relatively healthy wild bee populations, and little in the way of industrial agriculture that would threaten them and our honey bees (e.g., no known applications of neonicotinoids by farmers currently).
We would like to maintain this pathogen free status for as long as possible, for obvious reasons, and that's why we support enhanced regulation by our provincial government with respect to the importation of honey bees, bumble bees, and used beekeeping equipment.
Nonetheless, beekeeping in Newfoundland and Labrador is challenging given our short forage season. Moreover, we currently have only about 500 colonies in the province (compared to about 800 on the Isle of Man).
We want to expand beekeeping in NL in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner while at the same time protecting our native bee species. That, indeed, is the mandate of our association. Given our current, relatively pathogen-free status, we think we may be able to assist beekeepers elsewhere in the world with initiatives to protect honey bees, although what these initiatives are remains to be seen. We don’t think we can achieve our long term goals in isolation from what beekeepers are doing in the rest of Canada, and we recognize that we are part of a larger community sharing many of the same values, aspirations, and concerns. www.nlbeekeeping.ca