They don’t make honey, they aren’t all striped, and most have no interest in stinging you. But, they’re bees nonetheless, and Sherry Punak-Murphy can’t get enough of these tiny inhabitants of the mixed-grass prairie. Biologist by day and Brandon community advocate by... also day, discover her quest to turn B-City into a Bee-City.
You’re listening to Where the Bluestem Grows, stories from Manitoba’s prairie grasslands.
I’m Evan Woelk Balzer.
Being able to stand somewhere and see wildflowers for as far as the eye can see, like being able to stand in one spot, turn around three-sixty and having prairie all around you. And the smells, the sounds, the colour. Um, there's nothing better than that. Nothing.
That’s the voice of Sherry Punak-Murphy. She’s a biologist at Canadian Forces Base Shilo in Manitoba.
Sherry says that if you want to fully appreciate Manitoba’s incredible prairie you can’t overlook its pollinators - namely, the native bees that play a critical role in the grassland ecosystem.
Do you want me to give you a little lesson on ‘bout bees? (laughs)
Ever since she can remember, Sherry has been speaking out on behalf of these under-appreciated stars.
I was I was the girl in school that was called the bug- bug girl. You know, because I love bugs, I’d bring them to school. I would talk to them and talk about them and the kids in school would look at me funny. They're beautiful, they're diverse. They they do so many important jobs that we have no idea about.
As a city girl, Sherry yearned to get out into nature and work on the land. She studied climate science in university and then got a job at the base - wanting nothing more than a chance to do some menial labor outside.
I didn't want to think. I didn't want to use my brain. And I lucked out by getting this job in Shilo. And I had to learn all these plants and these birds. And it wasn't digging ditches. It was a brand new learning experience for me, which is still ongoing today.
Military bases often include massive tracts of land that, while primarily set aside for training, can also be home to incredible ecosystems. These ranges are where Sherry fell in love with grasslands. Everywhere she looked, there was something new to discover.
Oh, geez what don't I find? (laughs) I, I, I, find there's this, there's this spot on the ranges that I like to go to, and um. And it's been ever since I was a student. And whenever I was having a bad day in the office, my boss would throw the truck keys at me and go, ‘Go realign your karma.’ I’d drive down to the spot. I'd kind of just sit, you know, I'd look around and I'd feel at peace and I'd be ready to tackle the day again. It's just sort of like, you know, my little insect and flower friends kind of make me realize what's important.
And one thing that’s really important for healthy grasslands? Bees.
But when Sherry gets excited about bees, she’s not talking about honey bees - which are perhaps what most of us think of when we hear that word - you know, the ones that live in a hive with a queen and worker bees that gather nectar to make us humans delicious honey.
Turns out, honey bees represent a single tiny branch in the bee family tree - the one’s we’re used to are a European species that have been domesticated for honey production and crop pollination. In many ways, they’re completely different from native bees.
Sherry says there is so much more to the world of bees.
One of the things that we don't learn about when we go to school is that there are thousands, tens of thousands of native bees that occur in North America, and that here in the province of Manitoba, we have over 390 different species of bees.
Did you catch that? 390 species! Sherry rattles off a few…
mining bees, the leafcutter bees, the sweat bees
Wait, sweat bees?
They’re just attracted to the, to the salt in our sweat. And that’s why they’re called sweat bees. And they’re beautiful!
They're bright, brilliant, metallic colors like greens and blues and yellows, and they've got cute little antennae and uh, they have hairs on them. Um all bees have hairs on them. And the six legs and the wings and um, beady eyes, um and little smiles.
Sherry explained that many native bees, unlike European honeybees, have evolved to have unique and special relationships with certain prairie plants. Some kinds of native bees will only pollinate specific plants, or even, get this make tiny nests inside certain plants. Not a single one builds wax hives with a queen and worker bees. Many instead live in loose colonies or even spend their lives alone, connecting only to mate.
Another perk relative to honey bees? Native bees generally don’t sting.
I have never been stung in my life.
Okay. So how is that possible.
Well, because honey bees sting and that's where we get this that bees sting. Honey bees will sting because they have to um, protect the hive.
Out in nature, it’s a whole other story.
They don't want to sting you. Well don't think that they consciously go ‘Hmm this Sherry I don't want a sting her,’ but they don’t go out of their way to sting like honey bees do.
Now, it’s one thing for someone to like bees and even to go so far as profess to love them (which by the way, she did). It’s something else entirely for a city to declare the same thing.
One day, Sherry was at her desk, scrolling through information about bees, when she came across something that caught her eye.
There’s a designation that can be given to communities according to how well they support native pollinators. With the right qualifications, a place can be named a Bee City, and at that time, not a single Canadian community had achieved this status. Sitting in her office just outside Brandon, she thought…
B-town has to be a Bee City, it has to be.
So she presented the idea to the City of Brandon’s Environmental Committee, a group made up of a diverse team of folks who consider how best to support environmental issues in the city. She explained that to become a Bee City, you have to uphold three pillars:
One is to educate the public on native pollinators and native plants. Two is to create native habitat, and three is to celebrate Pollinator Week.
The designation appeared be an accessible way to make Brandon a more inviting place for pollinators. Of course, that meant Sherry would need to present the idea to Brandon City Council, which would in turn need to vote to accept the idea in order for them to move forward. But that presented a challenge all its own.
Oh I had huge doubts before going to council. I actually did an Instagram thing-
I’m on my way to city hall and today we are giving a presentation on Brandon to become a Bee City, so wish us luck.
She may sound upbeat there, but
I was really scared and really nervous. I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous when I, until I presented to council.
So Sherry packed up her computer, plucked up her courage, and stepped into the council chambers. From her spot on the podium, she could see the long oval table lined with attentive councilors looking up at her, and the mayor opposite her in their regalia.
It was the moment of truth - and it was all up to Sherry to sell them on the idea. She had to explain the process and convince them of the value of protecting her insect heroes.
And she knew she wasn’t preaching to the choir.
But, part way through her presentation, she looked out at the room and saw that folks had begun to nod and smile.
It was just beautiful. Like to know that somebody actually listened to what I had to say, picked up my enthusiasm about it and went, ‘Yeah, this might be good for the City of Brandon.’
Sherry was on pins and needles as the presentation turned to question period and further discussion… Then, the council held the vote and accepted her resolution. Brandon would begin the process of becoming a Bee City!
Not long after that, Sherry and Brandon’s environment coordinator wrote up the application and fired it off to Bee City Canada.
A few months later they got what they’d been hoping for, the declaration certifying Brandon as a Bee City.
The truth is, native bees could use our help. We are losing biodiversity in ecosystems across the globe - and grasslands are among the hardest hit. They are threatened by conversion, climate change, invasive species… the list goes on.
Without pollinators such as native bees, the prairies will lose much of their function.
It can feel overwhelming.. It’s hard to know how to respond to a world that is constantly changing. But Sherry lives by the belief that small acts of community and care go a long way.
Each individual who makes a small change can make a big difference and I think a lot of people think that, ‘Well, there's just me, what can I do?’ Well, you know, plant some native plants in your yard, leave out some water for the bees and the insects, simple as that.
And if you do it and your neighbor does it and your neighbor does it, and they do it at the community garden and the City of Brandon does it. Then it's a cumulative thing. And all of a sudden we've created something for these little creatures.
Before we can create, she says, we need to pay attention.
No that there's this whole vast world out there that people just need to sit every once in a while and just realize that there's more to life than whatever it is that you're doing at that time. Sometimes we just need to sit, look at the flowers and watch the birds and the bees (laughs).
This is how we fall in love. Sherry says: When we can see the world with the wonder, curiosity and awe we had as children, we have no choice but to work to protect it and all its creatures.
Including the humble native bees that keep our incredible grasslands thriving.
Where the Bluestem Grows was created by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Our editor is Ashley Ahearn. Sound design and music by Jordan Jackview.
The audio for this episode was recorded on Treaty 2 land, the traditional territory of the Dakota, Anishinaabe, Anishininiwak, and Ininiwak peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation. We are grateful for these lands and their many stewards.
This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change.