Bees on Board
Support a local wildlife conservation program!
Did you know that some of Canada’s bumble bee species are declining? Wildlife Preservation Canada’s Bumble Bee Recovery Program monitors species across Ontario and manages a bumble bee conservation breeding program to save bumble bees from extinction.
Sign up today and become a Bees on Board volunteer – transferring bees for our bumble bee team.
How can you help?
We need drivers to help us assist in transferring queens to our breeding lab.
Bumble bee queens are gently placed in vials that are then placed in a cooler. This cooler is then transported by you – our Bees on Board volunteers!
Your contribution helps us in getting our queens set up our lab in a timely manner, which is critical for the success of our captive colonies. The faster that we can get our queens to our conservation breeding lab, the less stress for them, and overall increased chances of initiation a colony in captivity. The more queens that initiate colonies in our lab, the more successful of a breeding season for us.
No experience with insects is necessary to help!
When?
Bumble bee transfers happen Wednesdays, and alternating Saturdays/Sundays, from May 7th to June 22nd.
You can pick a day in advance!
| Wednesday | Saturday | Sunday |
| May 7 | – | May 11 |
| May 14 | May 17 | – |
| May 21 | – | May 25 |
| May 28 | May 31 | – |
| June 4 | – | June 8 |
| June 11 | June 14 | – |
| Jun 18 | – | June 22 |
Taylor Kerekes, Lead Biologist for our Native Pollinator Initiative, transfers bees with the help of a wonderful Bees on Board volunteer.
Where?
The start of the route is in Sudbury, with the end destination being African Lion Safari in Cambridge. However, bees can be picked up and/or dropped off at the following locations if Sudbury and/or Cambridge is not along your route: Britt, Parry Sound, Barrie, and Toronto.
Drop off stops for each city
*It may be possible to pick up/drop off bees at other locations reasonably near the listed cities/towns. These adjustments will be made on a case-to-case basis.
Sudbury
Petro-Canada/Plaza, 1810 Regent St
9:00 am – 9:30am
Britt
Esso, 1 ON -529, Britt, ON P0G 1A0
10:00 am – 10:30am
Parry Sound
Shell, 116 Bowes St., Parry Sound, ON, P2A 2L7
10:45 am – 11:15 am
Barrie:
Shell, 86 Barrie View Dr., Barrie, ON, L4N 8V4
12 pm – 12:30 pm
Toronto
Wilson Subway station at the commuter parking lot
1:30 pm – 2:00pm
African Lion Safari
At the employee gate
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm
The portion of the transfer route between Sudbury and Barrie is extremely helpful to our team!
Note: Transfer logistics depend on how many bumble bee queens our crews have collected. This can mean that a transfer day may be cancelled if the Sudbury crew doesn’t have queens to bring to the lab. You will receive a confirmation that the transfer is happening at least 24 hours in advance. Similarly, if your route is cancelled, you will be notified at least 24 hours in advance.
Who can help?
Anyone is welcome to participate in this initiative. No experience is needed!
What do I need?
- A vehicle with space to safely transport a small cooler
- A mobile phone to communicate with the Bumble team
- Climate control is beneficial but not necessary
- To provide an e-mail address and contact information to WPC and potentially other transfer volunteers assigned to your transfer day, and to complete a volunteer/liability waiver
- Enthusiasm to contribute to conservation action!
Picture: yellow banded bumble bees in vials © T.Harrison
