What: Beecology: Organic / Biodynamic Food Gardens for People and Pollinators
When: Thursday, January 21, 7 – 8:30 PM
Where: Downtown Kelowna Branch, Okanagan Regional Library, 1380 Ellis Street
Cost: Free admission, registration encouraged
On Thursday, January 21, 2016, the Public Art Pollinator Pasture Project and the Okanagan Regional Library will host the third talk of “The Pollinizing Sessions: A Series of Talks and Workshops to Learn About Pollinators in Our Community.” Gabe Cipes of Summerhill Winery will talk about “Beecology: Organic / Biodynamic Food Gardens for People and Pollinators.”
The talk will be held at the downtown Kelowna branch of the Okanagan Regional Library, 1380 Ellis St. Kelowna from 7 pm – 8:30 pm. Admission is free but people are encouraged to pre-register at pollinizingsessions-cipes.eventbrite.ca
Gabe Cipes
Gabe Cipes is a Certified Permaculture designer, Beekeeper, Viticulturist and Biodynamicist at Summerhill Pyramid Winery. He works closely with the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Representatives (TEK) on the Syilx Ethical Agriculture project. He is an International representative for Demeter Canada and sits on Boards of Directors for a number of organizations that include Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia (COABC), Biodynamic Agriculture Society of British Columbia (BDASBC), Demeter Canada, and the Food Policy Council. Summerhill Vineyard is the largest Organic vineyard in Canada and has been certified for over 20 years.
In 2012, Summerhill became one of the first vineyards in Canada to receive its Demeter Biodynamic certification due to the dedication of Gabe Cipes. Through the implementation of alternative pest management together with a balanced ecology, Summerhill Winery is a driving force in the movement towards natural agricultural practices in the Okanagan.
Gabe attending to his bees
“We’re looking forward to hearing about Cipes’ hands-on research around how permaculture and biodynamic practices can help support healthy pollinators, both honey bees and native bees,” says organizer UBC Associate Professor Nancy Holmes. “As we learned from our previous talks, agriculture is one of the serious contributors to issues around loss of native bees and other pollinators. We hope to hear about how gardeners and farmers can reverse these trends.”
The Pollinizing Sessions is a partnership with Okanagan Regional Library and UBC Okanagan’s research project, the Public Art Pollinator Pasture. UBC Okanagan and Emily Carr University have teamed up for a three-year partnership project with the City of Kelowna and the City Richmond to create community and public art projects around bees. The Pollinizing Sessions will host a series of eight talks and three workshops in 2016. For a complete list of these sessions visit the Eco Art Incubator blog.
The series is sponsored by the Okanagan Regional Library, The Public Art Pollinator Pasture Project, and Border Free Bees. Find out more information by contacting Nancy Holmes at 250-764-9666.