Yuin community come together to support native bees after the bushfires

Members of the Aboriginal community came together to attend a 2-day Native bee workshop held at Sussex Inlet, Yuin Country.

Megan Halcroft from Bees Business delivered a presentation on the devastating impact that bushfire has on cavity bee populations and the important role native bees play in rehabilitating the landscape post-fire.

As part of a plan to increase native bee populations, participants made trap nests out of hardwood blocks for cavity bees to nest in and rear their offspring. The traps will be used to develop nurseries and will be placed on unburnt country over spring and summer when the bees are active. The nurseries will then be relocated to a rehabilitated site to repopulate the bee species which were heavily impacted by fire.

“Without these specialist bees that have coevolved with the native plants, the plant will not be able to reproduce. We have to look at the pollinators as well as the plant populations within these burnt areas” Megan said.

The workshop also stimulated discussions around the cultural importance of native bees for Yuin People and the role of bees in healing country to create healthy landscapes.