About BeeSAFE

Our ability to grow safe food is compromised by Genetically Modified crops that cross-pollinate with traditional and organic crops (and even with wild plants of same family) and by the dangerous pesticides used to grow these crops.

By growing more safe food locally, and spending more of our food dollars locally, we can go a long way towards building a creative rural economy that protects water and farmland while creating jobs in a variety of sectors.

Get a Bee SAFE sign to show our elected officials that our community wants them to ban GMO and support safe agriculture!

• Learn how to grow safe food even if all you have is a little space.
• Recognize safe and unsafe seeds, and solve problems without chemicals.
• Get in touch with others to share skills, tools & equipment to grow, process, or prepare local food.
• Get seasonal menus and recipes based on local affordable ingredients to keep more of our food dollar$ local.
• Attend a workshop to learn how to store, preserve, prepare local seasonal food, compost wastes, save seeds.
• Need help planning a business related to building our rural economy?  Book time with our business analyst who will help you get started free of charge!

Let's grow local!  Every dollar spent locally has three times the impact of a dollar spent globally!

June 25, 2012

Like a tiny seed, it began as an idea that grew and blossomed into something big. The Bee S.A.F.E. movement, although still young, is not just alive, but flourishing. It is hard to believe that only 3 months have passed since the Bee S.A.F.E. office, sponsored by SENS (Sustainable Environment Network Society), threw open its doors to enthusiastic supporters.

The brainchild of Huguette Allen, Jane Emlyn, and Carla Vierke, Bee S.A.F.E. has been an active and welcome addition to Lumby and surrounding area. With the work of volunteers and the support and endorsement of the people in the area and beyond, Bee S.A.F.E. has accomplished a lot.

Once the seed was planted the organizers worked quickly to grow their idea. In a surprisingly short period of time they established office space, developed informational material and fundraising ideas, planned activities, and reached out to the community.

The sale of the now familiar “no GMO” signs was one of the fundraising proposals, and it has proven to be very successful. So far over 300 signs have been sold and over 40 area residents have come in to the Bee S.A.F.E. office to colour in their properties as GMO free. (See maps.)

Mason bee houses, generously donated by Willy Gutzke, have also sold well. And, local organic seeds provided by Morgan Price and Ron Thomas of Greenstone Farm and Tom Vangement were snapped up.

A number of free workshops have been offered, including topics such as seed-planting, mason bees, and permaculture. In addition, a number of local gardeners have graciously invited interested participants to their greenhouses and gardens to share a wealth of information.

The Bee S.A.F.E. movement has been a presence at the Enderby Seed Sale, various environmental film activities, the Lumby Chamber of Commerce display and Lumby Days. Anyone wanting to know more about Bee S.A.F.E. or about sustainable gardening has only to consult local expertise.

Bee S.A.F.E. puts out a regular newsletter with a readership of 340. As well, Huguette Allen writes a regular column in Your Country News, Carla Vierke writes for The Cherryvillan (Cherryville News) and Jane Emlyn writes a gardening column for the Lumby Valley Times. Bee S.A.F.E. is also now happily sharing office space with the Monashee Arts Council.

The future looks likes even brighter. In addition to continuing with the present activities, the Bee S.A.F.E. group is busy working on ideas for more fundraising, partnering with other groups and offering more workshops. We are also very excited about a Bee S.A.F.E. boutique offering local organic foods and products particularly related to bees. Watch this space!

When all is said and done the greatest contribution of Bee S.A.F.E. may be how it has raised awareness of the issue of GMOs and getting the community, whatever their opinion, to talk about it.

Bee SAFE Office Grand Opening, February 29, 2012

Carla Vierke
On behalf of Bee S.A.F.E. I would like to thank all the good people who have generously donated money, office equipment, paint, time and support. Everything [was] greatly appreciated.
The office is starting to look really good and people are dropping in and asking, “What’s going on in here?” Bee S.A.F.E. is a non-profit local movement working to improve health, the environment, and our local economy by increasing access to local food that is safe from GMO contamination and pesticide pollution.
Bee S.A.F.E. is your local source of information for growing and eating food grown in a way that is safe for bees and for us. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms. GM plants are banned in Germany, Ireland, Hungary and many other countries. Farmers are not allowed to save seeds from GM plants so they must buy seeds and pesticides every year. GM plants cross-pollinate with other plants, giving control of our food to corporations and taking away our ability to grow, sell and eat organic food.
When corporations rule our food, we lose food security, plant diversity, small family farms, and the choice of what we grow and eat.
Canada grows GM corn, soya, canola and sugar beets. These GM foods are hidden in almost all processed food (unless certified organic) because Canada refuses to label GM foods. In addition, farms growing GM crops do not need to let neighbouring farms know, making them vulnerable to contamination.
Monsanto and governments said GM crops were needed to feed the world. GM crops have NOT increased yield but have increased the use of pesticides tremendously. GM foods are linked to cancers, organ failure, obesity, sterility, birth defects, autism and allergies.
GMO and pesticides pollute underground water, streams, the air, and the soil. Industrial food contributes 40% to Green House Gases.  38% of agricultural lands worldwide are designated degraded.
One third of honey bee colonies in the US have vanished. The list of crops that won’t grow without bees includes: apples, asparagus, cherries, peaches, raspberries and many more.
What can you do? You can support our vision and place a Bee S.A.F.E. sign in evidence on your property to show that you support this vision.  Tell others! The more Bee S.A.F.E. signs there are, the stronger the message that this area wants safe agriculture. Be counted! Come into the office to identify your Bee S.A.F.E. property (whether you grow food or not) on the maps to show that this community wants to be GMO and pesticide free.  Share! Let us know of any skill, equipment or tools you can share with others.  Less Guilt—More Action! Join the Bee S.A.F.E. action network on our website. Fifteen minutes per week can go a long way towards keeping this area Bee S.A.F.E.
Please save all of your Nature's Fare receipts and donate the receipts to Bee S.A.F.E. Nature's Fare will give us three percent, before taxes, of the total amount of your purchase as a way to fund raise and help pay for the cost of running the office and educating the public on this very important issue. When you have a bunch just drop them by at the office—details below. Thank you, Nature's Fare, and everyone for your support!
At Bee S.A.F.E. we hope to link growers with buyers, give workshops on growing safe food, teach food preserving, how to compost, save seeds, provide seasonal menus and much more. If you have skills you would like to share please contact us.
If you are starting your plants indoors, please think of the bees and plant flowers and perennials that bring them to your garden.
Together we can Bee S.A.F.E., one garden at a time!

The Bee S.A.F.E. office [was] located at 1961 Vernon Street (Highway 6), Lumby—in the old Family Café building, across from the pharmacy. Business hours [were]: Monday to Friday, 12 noon to 5pm.  The telephone number [was] (778) 473 3029.