The dwindling population of wild bees has prompted a plea to
the Waitaki District Council to make it easier for people to
have hives in residential areas.
The Waitaki Community Garden has started a bee project, which
includes a plan for bee corridors - strips of plantings on
roads, waterways and cycleways which attract and support bees
but also wants to encourage people to keep bees.
It also wants to set up hives at the garden on the south end
of the Oamaru Public Gardens.
However, a member of the gardens group, Marian Shore, said
under the Waitaki district plan a resource consent was needed
to keep bees in residential areas. People wanting only one or
two hives could not afford the resource consents process.
Ms Shore asked the council at its meeting yesterday to
consider making a change to its district plan during the
present financial year to allow hives to be kept in
residential areas without needing a resource consent.
She had researched other councils and was unable to find one
which required that.
Ms Shore predicted that within three years there could be no
wild bees left in residential areas of the district, because
of the varroa mite and other effects, including insecticides.
Bees were vital for food production and needed to be
encouraged, she said.
Part of the bee programme planned by the community gardens
included encouraging planting bee corridors, similar to the
English hedgerows projects. Using plants attractive to bees,
corridors would be 7m wide along "natural corridors" such as
roads, streams and rivers and cycleways.
The bee project had the support of beekeepers, Ngai Tahu,
Waitaha and the New Zealand Transport Agency, she said.
david.bruce@odt.co.nz
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.