Nancy Holmes and Cameron Cartiere with award presenters at the 17th Annual NAPPC Conference
National Award for Border Free Bees Project places spotlight on work by Creative Writing professor Nancy Holmes
The Border Free Bees Project was chosen as the recipient of the 2017 Pollinator Advocate Award for Canada. Border Free Bees is a long-term public art initiative headed by Dr. Cameron Cartiere (Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design) and Associate Professor Nancy Holmes (UBC Okanagan), in collaboration with numerous strategic partners.
“I am really honored by this international recognition for our work in Kelowna and the lower mainland. The award is truly shared with our amazing volunteers and many community partners,” says Holmes.
Presented by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, the Pollinator Advocate Award honours educational outreach resulting in increased awareness of the importance of pollinators and pollination. The Pollinator Advocate Awards, which are awarded to one recipient annually in Canada, the US and Mexico, support the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign’s goal to encourage environmental stewardship and to catalyze future actions that benefit pollinators.
The Border Free Bees initiative’s mission is to raise awareness of the plight of wild pollinators, empower communities to actively engage in solutions for habitat loss, and transform under-utilized urban sites into aesthetically pleasing and scientifically viable pollinator pastures.
Nancy and her partners have planned and created a number of projects that have invited hundreds of people, organizations and businesses in Kelowna who have enthusiastically jumped into learning about native bees and who are committed to creating and preserving habitat for them in backyards and public lands. To find out more about the variety and number of projects, visit: borderfreebees.com/projects
Nancy Holmes and Cameron Cartiere with their award
“I hope this spotlight on what we are doing in Kelowna can inspire other communities to take on pollinator advocacy in a big way. And make art and community while doing so!” says Holmes.
Additional information about all of the pollinator award winners from 2017 and previous years is available at pollinator.org/awards.