Elizabeth Elle: The Bees of your Backyard

Date: 7:30pm-10:00pm, Sep 9, 2026

The Bees of your Backyard

Have you ever paused to consider how much we owe to pollinators? About one out of every three bites we eat, not to mention the reproduction of native and ornamental plants! The pollination workhorses are the almost 500 species of native bees in BC. There is also an incredible diversity of flower-visiting flies, not to mention the flashier flower visitors like butterflies and hummingbirds. This presentation is a fun introduction to the diversity and natural history of bees and other pollinators, full of photos of what you might see visiting flowers in your own backyard.

Elizabeth Elle is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Elizabeth and her students have been studying interactions between plants and insects (mostly pollinators, but also herbivores and predators) in farms, natural areas, habitat restorations, and gardens of BC for more than 25 years. She is currently focused on translating the science of conservation to assist the public and land managers in biodiversity-supporting gardening and restoration practices;  for more info, visit her web page.