Enhancing the lives of seniors, pollinators, and the land we live on.
In 2023, the Bria Bee Well Project began as a partnership between Bria Communities and Tsawwassen Beekeeper Julia Common to enhance the lives of Bria Communities residents, local pollinators and the entire community of Tsawwassen.
Through educational sessions, hands-on activities, and field trips throughout the year, Julia has introduced Bria’s seniors to the world of the bees. In addition, the partnership stimulated the development of an accessible apiary on the southwest corner of Southlands Tsawwassen where Bria Communities now sponsors four hives.
In 2024, with the assistance of $25,000 in funding through the New Horizons for Seniors federal grant, the program extended beyond Tsawwassen. Residents from all four Bria Communities now have access to the Bee Well Project and sponsor hives at the Southlands Tsawwassen Apiary.
As a beekeeper and steward of the land and pollinators, I am always looking for the opportunity to educate and implement projects that sustain both humans and pollinators. As a person with aging siblings and friends, I am keen to keep the older generation engaged, stimulated, and connected with their communities and family members.
Julia Common, Bee Well Project Beekeeper
PROJECT GOALS
- Provide a program where Bria Communities sponsors the management of working honey bee colonies and participates in beekeeping.
- Educate seniors about pollinator health and sustainability
- Connect people to the land on which the pollinators live and feed and the food they produce.
- Form and maintain a pollinator stewardship program on-site at Bria Communities residences.
- Enhancement of pollinator habitat at the Southlands Tsawwassen Apiary
- Provide opportunities to engage the ICAA’s seven dimensions of wellness and enhance the health and well-being of the Bria Communities residents.