Enhancing the lives of seniors, pollinators, and the land we live on.
2025 is the third year for the Bee Well Project in Bria Communities. Our residents have sponsored five active hives, visited the Bee Place at the Southlands Apiary, and will harvest more than 120 lbs of honey in August and September! Along with our expert local beekeeper, Julia Common they have explored the medicinal properties of honey and honeybee byproducts, hand-rolled beeswax candles, and enjoyed tasting lots of delicious honey from around the world!
The Bria Bee Well Project is an opportunity for seniors and pollinators to thrive together and enrich each other’s lives. Originally developed as a partnership between Bria Communities and Tsawwassen Beekeeper Julia Common, the program intended to enhance the lives of Bria Communities residents, local pollinators and the entire community.
This six-month project offers seniors opportunities to participate in educational sessions led by the beekeeper, hands-on activities related to beekeeping and honeybees, and educational trips to working apiaries. Seniors are immersed in the world of honeybees and pollinators and gain a better understanding of food, agriculture, and the role they can play in sustainability.
Each Bee Well Project activity is purposefully crafted to engage one or more of the Seven Dimensions of Wellness identified by the International Council of Active Aging.
Contact us to learn how you could run the Bee Well Project with seniors in your community.
Do you know how seniors are often invisible in our society? Honeybees are often invisible in operation as well. And yet the bees are vital, and so are our elders.
Julia Common, Bee Well Project Beekeeper
BEE WELL PROJECT GOALS
- Educate seniors about honeybee and pollinator health and sustainability
- Connect seniors to the land on which the pollinators live and feed and the food they produce.
- Enhancement of pollinator habitat of the local communities surrounding retirement residences.
- Improve health and wellness in seniors by engaging in the ICAA’s seven dimensions of wellness and with emphasis on environmental wellness.
This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program.