The following article appeared in the October 26 edition of the Guelph Tribune:
Two Guelphites were honoured in different ways this week for their work in promoting and conserving pollinators.
Ward 2 city councillor Vicki Beard was honoured for her commitment to pollinator conservation at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. This, while University of Guelph environmental biology professor Ernesto Guzman was awarded a hefty grant to study the winter demise of Ontario honeybees.
Beard was given the Pollinator Advocate Award by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign.
A pollinator is an animal or insect that causes a plant to produce fruit or seeds. Common examples of pollinators are bees, hummingbirds and some butterflies.
Beard was recognized for her work advocating for the conservation and management of pollinators and their habitats, said a news release. She was a leader in exploring and promoting a pollination park of approximately 200 acres on a recently decommissioned landfill, it said.
U of G professor Guzman received a nearly $278,000 grant to investigate the role parasites played in the severe loss of Ontario’s honeybees last winter, said a news release.
He believes two specific parasites are among the main culprits of the high winter mortality rates.
The grant came from the Ontario Beekeepers Association.