Integrating Streamside Shrub Products with Honey Bees

British Columbia’s forest lands abound with streams.  Scattered across the Province are numerous small private woodlot owners who manage forests associated with streams. These riparian corridors are rarely utilized, yet can provide multiple benefits when managed with care.

Agroforestry is a concept that can be easily applied to riparian areas.  It’s a management approach that integrates familiar and new agriculture and forestry practices into land management systems which contribute to diversification and sustainability of production.  Riparian zones can generate products for extra income while being carefully managed to protect these biodiverse habitats.

Integrated Riparian Management is an agroforestry system that relies on a steady source of production while caretaking unique sensitive and remarkable ecological attributes.  Because riparian areas are prone to soil and surface water impacts, the land owner must choose crops and harvesting systems which will not cause significant impacts.  Example of products that may be cultivated without adverse soil and vegetation disturbance include florals, wreaths, Christmas trees, berries, nuts, timber, and bee products.  Another consideration is which of these products have a good market demand.  Thus, a source of income is gained.

To gain enhanced benefits, a well-designed and implemented riparian management scheme will integrate more than one component.  For example, partial shade provided from tree canopies are a preferred sunlight condition for huckleberries.  By selectively harvesting trees and maintaining perpetual tree cover, huckleberry production is enhanced while limiting soil and forest disturbance which can impact streams.

Design and Establishment

Oregon grape

Currently, there are market demands for many naturally grown products in BC such as berries, bark, evergreen boughs, and honey.  It’s useful to consult experts such as agroforestry specialists (e.g. within the BC Ministry of Agriculture), purchasers of products (e.g. grocery co-ops), farm market coordinators, or even local cultivators about what is in demand.  Particular plants that aren’t widely regarded as valuable for cultivation may actually have uses which are in-demand.  Once marketable species are identified, you should make sure they are a good match for the soil, sunlight, moisture, and temperature conditions of your property.  Although riparian zones can be assumed to have ample water availability, the amount of water can vary widely based on distance to stream, or during the course of the growing season.  Perennials are usually a better choice due to lower maintenance needs than annuals, as well as less frequent soil disturbance.  Although not imperative, by choosing plants that are native to the region, certain risks are lessened.  For example, native species will typically be better adapted to the climate and pests in the region.  When integrating with honey bees, it’s also useful to research which plants may be of higher value to bees.  Long-time beekeepers and various published forage guides can better ensure a good match.

A Kootenay Demonstration

Cascara seeding ready for planting

With funding from the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative, a demonstration site was recently established in the Slocan Valley where there is a substantial demand for locally grown products.  The shrub species selected for this system have markets both within and outside the region.  Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana) is a tree which grows to about 10 meters tall.  Its bark is in demand as a natural laxative ingredient.  High bush cranberry (Viburnum opulus var. americanum) is needed for a variety of medicinal uses as well as for its berries.  Demand for tall Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium) is also rising.  It is used as a substitute for goldenseal which has international trade restrictions due to conservation concerns.  Its berries are increasingly used in food products and the foliage is a popular landscaping product.  These three native species were planted on about 1.5 acres of riparian habitat during 2012-13.  The three species vary in habitat requirements and were planted accordingly.  This has resulted in greater than 90% survivorship at the end of their first growing season.

In 2013 an existing bee yard was expanded to a capacity of 10 hives during the riparian shrub plantings.  The back side of the bee yard abuts a forested riparian zone which serves as a useful windbreak.  The bee yard meets a large forest opening on its south margin with full sun exposure – this creates a favorable microclimate for bee survival during the cold months.   During berry season, it’s necessary to temporarily extend the bee yard’s electric bear fencing to encircle the berry plants.  This is done mostly with temporary step-in fence posts and a lighter grade of wire.

Integration

Streamside shrubs deliver many integrated benefits

One of the greatest virtues of this agroforestry system is how the different components are blended to interact and complement each other.  Water associated with the streams can ensure good productivity of the cultivated plants.  Their canopies help shade the streams keeping the water temperatures from overheating to the detriment of aquatic life while stabilizing soil.  The cool clean water is maintained for wildlife and drinking water.  Honey bees drink directly from streams and often transport it back to hives for use in evaporative cooling.  The taller vegetation associated with riparian zones serves as a windbreak for hives – especially valuable during the cold winter months.  The carefully chosen cultivated plants will be frequented by bees.  The pollination that results may lead to enhanced berry production and reproduction of new plants.  In return, the pollen and nectar provided to honey bees will enhance yields of honey.  In fact, by choosing bee-valued plants, lessor-known native bees can benefit.  Both imported honey bees and native bees are critical for plant production, yet their numbers are declining worldwide. 

Plan

1. Investigate the demand for herbal products and whether the particular species are a good match for your riparian area site conditions.
2. If you’re not familiar with beekeeping, take a course or contact your local beekeeping group for a mentor to help decide if it’s right for you.
3. Consider travel time from your home.  Bees need to be tended nearly every week during the spring.
4. Sketch a layout of your area for cultivation.  Calculate the number of plants to acquire based on spacing requirements. 

Prepare

1. Prepare planting area by pruning lower tree branches and carefully thinning competing woody species.
2. Order plants and bees during the winter for spring arrival.  Having a registered business with Revenue Canada will significantly reduce prices (wholesale) with nurseries.
3.  Ensure vehicle access to the bee yard and install electric fencing before hives are established.

Planting and Tending

1. Planting during the dormant season (early spring or fall) often results in better survivorship of seedlings.
2. Monitor plants and bees for pest damage and respond as needed.

Streamside Honeybees and Native Shrubs Agroforestry Video

The Murray family woodlot has released a video describing their integrated riparian management system near Slocan

Vanderhoof Agroforestry Field Tour, Oct 16

Resources North Association, with funding from the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative, is excited to host a field tour of the Murray Creek Rehabilitation Project near Vanderhoof on Wednesday, October 16, 2013, from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Transportation will depart the Prince George Civic Centre at 8:30 am.  The tour guide will be Wayne Salewski, Director of Nechako Environment and Watershed Stewardship Society. The Murray Creek project is a continuation of work stated five years ago by the Vanderhoof Fish and Game Club to restore salmon and trout habitat, to enable landowners to work collaboratively towards environmental stewardship, and to serve as a demonstration site to help educate the public about the values of retaining forested lands adjacent to streams (riparian habitat). Combining forestry and agricultural practices have many benefits.  Come out to learn more and see the accomplishments at Murray Creek, as well as at sites where project work is underway by UNBC's professor Margot Parks, exploring how best to support health, environment and community.

The tour will also include a brief stop at the Nechako White Sturgeon recovery Centre to discuss restoration and recovery efforts for this endangered species. The Nechako River Bird Sanctuary is also adjacent to these projects and you will have an opportunity to see the area full of migrating geese and ducks as they stop over to feed before heading south for winter.

Registration is $25 and is available online at https://event-wizard.com/2013Agroforestry/0/register/

Or contact the Resources North Assocation at 250-612-5840,  diana@resourcesnorth.org

Streamside Honeybees Agroforestry Tour, September 7

Streamside Honeybees Agroforestry Tour,
Saturday September 7, 2013 13:00 - 14:00
8875 Martens Rd, Slocan City, BC

Beekeeping with native stream-side shrubs is the topic of a free tour being offered near Slocan City on Saturday, September 7. The tour will highlight the results of a demonstration project at the Murray Family Woodlot where a riparian area is newly planted with three native shrubs well-suited to the region. The Murray Family, with funding from the British Columbia Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative (AIDI ), are showcasing the benefits of integrating honey bees in riparian plantings for both conservation benefits and economic diversification.

The Kootenays are replete with small private land parcels endowed with streams. These riparian corridors are rarely utilized, yet can provide multiple benefits to land owners when managed with care. Many native shrubs grow products like berries and bark which are in demand for food and medicinals. When beehives are nearby, flowering shrubs benefit from honey bee pollination services while also benefiting bees with pollen and nectar for producing honey. Riparian buffers further complement hives by providing both a windbreak and surface water required by bees. Thus, sensitive riparian systems can be managed for economic benefit while protecting drinking water and wildlife habitat.


Directions to Tour: From Hwy 6, turn on to Martens Rd (1.3 km south of Slocan City exit).  Drive past the 'White Pines Dojo' sign and continue uphill to the corner.  There is a driveway on left side of road just before this corner, and 8875 sign.  (If you miss, you'll simply come to dead-end).

Please park along road.  (Parking space is limited up the driveway).  If you arrive late, you can simply walk up driveway about 100 meters and give a holler.

For additional details on the tour, please contact Michael Murray at 250-354-1412.

6th Annual Silver Hills Ranch Biodiversity Tour and Social

Silver Hills Ranch is holding its 6th annual biodiversity tour on Friday September 6, 2013.

The tour is Silver Hill Ranch's way of bringing together people who have common interests in agriculture or the environment to their back yard for good conversation and a walkabout. The Hesketh family's ranch is located on the edge of the Monashee Mountain Range. The ranch is along the Upper Shuswap River across from the community of Cherryville. This location borders near the confluence of the Okanagan, Shuswap and Kooteney watersheds, and provides a unique landscape that supports a wide variety of biodiversity. While you are there, you can take a walk, or perhaps a hayride, and look at how Silver Hills Ranch is making efforts to work with Mother Nature, versus against her, as they go about the business of raising commercial beef cattle. Silver Hills Ranch uses a Holistic Management style in looking after the land because the primary resources of the ranch are water, grass, and trees, and they realize that everything hinges on these resources' success for the ranch to be successful.

The Hesketh family have invited a few friends and associates to present some of their words of wisdom on subjects like Agroforestry. This year’s keynote speakers are George Powell, Project Development & Communication Services Manager for BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative and Lisa Zabek, Interior Agroforestry Specialist with the BC Ministry of Agriculture. Have you heard about maple wine, or birch syrup, or have you considered growing Christmas trees? George and Lisa are a wealth of information on these and other emerging sectors and opportunties to integrate agriculture, rural diversification and conservation practices.

Other topics that will be discussed include range management, watershed management and an update on the reintroduction of fish passage to the upper river. Discussion and participation are encouraged by all attendees as this tour is about sharing knowledge while learning from other points of view in a 'hats off' type of environment.

This year the focus will be on the need for collaboration between stake holders. In his roll with the Farmland Riparian Interface Stewardship Program (FRISP), delivered through the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association (BCCA), Lee Hesketh has relied on his rural perspective when mitigating or moderating conflicts between stake holders. Far too often a misunderstanding and conflict is created by lack of knowledge, poor communication, and the concern for one’s self-gain. Lee's ranching background has taught him that more hands make less work. By encouraging people to work together and to look for answers versus problems during challenging times, a lot can be achieved even with diverse interests.

Lee's ultimate goal is to have attendees leave with a greater understanding, appreciation, and respect for the ranching sector's ability to protect and contribute ecological diversity on the landscape through integrating ourselves with the environment while preparing food for our plates.

In hosting this event on a Friday, Silver Hills also encourages those of you who are travelling some distance for work the opportunity to add some personal time to the trip. The Heskeths encourage people to bring family or friends along and enjoy the hospitality of the ranch by staying over night. As in past, they’ll be opening their backyard to free camping and will have a community fire for those wanting to sit and relax under the stars after the day's events. Those who have musical talent are encouraged to feel free to entertain. Lee and family encourage sustainability, which means they supply the location, access to barbeques, and outhouse, but you bring the rest.

For those wanting to make it a weekend event, the Wild Salmon Music Festival is being held in Lumby over the weekend as well. It is a great grassroots music festival featuring local bands and promoting the return of Salmon to the upper reaches of the Shuswap River. For those just wanting to take a break and relax, the river should still be warm enough for swimming if we have sunny skies, plus the ranch has lots of hiking opportunities for those with a little extra energy. There is even a 9-hole golf course across the river in Cherryville in walking distance if you don’t mind wading the river.


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This tour is part of the extension series, "Riparian Stewardship Through Agroforestry".  Partial funding for this work has been provided by the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative (AGF1304)

Interior Stewardship Workshop Report Available

The summary report from the 9th Annual BC Interior Stewardship Workshop, held in Vanderhoof on May 7-8, 2013 is now posted online. Visit www.fraserbasin.bc.ca/tr_interior_stewardship.html for links to most of the presentations and the summary report for this year, and previous years.

Following the format from previous years, the workshop included sessions for learning, networking, and making new connections. The agenda featured presentations from stewardship organizations, First Nations, and university students.  This year's workshop includes presentations on the use of agroforestry for watershed stewardship.

Partial funding for this workshop was provided by the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative in partnership with the Farmland Riparian Interface Stewardship Program of the BC Cattlemans Association.

Interior Stewardship Workshop tour to the Murray Creek restoration project

Agroforestry Tour at the 85th Annual BC Cattlemen's AGM

The BC Cattlemen's Association (BCCA) will be hosting it’s annual convention in Vernon this year from May 23 -25th.  The annual education day portion of the convention is one of the highlights of this event as it offers a great opportunity for ranchers and industry representatives to gain a better understanding of ideas that may assist with their operations becoming more economically and environmentally sustainable.

With funding from the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative, the BCCA is pleased to offer an agroforestry tour as part of this year's education day. The theme for the education day is management for integrating grass, trees and water.  The tour will showcase the success and opportunities that the agroforestry sector provides to addressing forage development, water quality concerns, riparian management and economic diversification from a southern interior prospective.

The tour will visit agroforestry-related demonstrations and research sites in the north Okanagan and will provide education about agroforestry opportunities and practices, building awareness about agroforestry within the ranching community.

The BCCA has been the official voice of cattle ranchers throughout British Columbia since 1929.  For more than 80 years, the Association - whose membership is close to 1,200 ranchers - has represented the interests of beef cattle producers in the Province of BC.  BCCA is proud to work on behalf of approximately 72% of the provincial cattle herd to maintain and strengthen the sustainability of the BC beef industry.

To attend this tour you must register for the BCCA education day. For additional information or to register for the BCCA education day and tour please visit www.bccaagm.com/

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Funding for this work has been provided through the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative (AGF1303)

Agroforestry at the Ninth Annual BC Interior Stewardship Workshop

The Farm Riparian Interface Stewardship Program, with funding from the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative, is pleased to provide support for an agroforestry information session at the upcoming Ninth Annual BC Interior Stewardship Workshop, in Vanderhoof, May 7 and 8, 2013.

This event is part of the extension series: Riparian Stewardship through Agroforestry 

For more information on the Annual BC Interior Stewardship Workshop, locally hosted by the Nechako Environment and Water Stewardship Society, please visit the Fraser Basin Council website.

Register for the workshop and tour at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P56YNS6

Workshop is at full capacity - registration is now closed. 

Extension Series: Riparian Stewardship Through Agroforestry

Photo courtesy of D. Trotter, BC Ministry of Agriculture

The Farm Riparian Interface Stewardship Program (FRISP), with funding from the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative (AIDI), will be delivering a series of agroforestry education and outreach sessions in British Columbia throughout 2013.  These sessions will provide information and build awareness about agroforestry beneficial management practices (BMPs) within the agricultural community, and will deliver details on how agroforestry practices can contribute to responsible riparian stewardship.

FRISP, a partnership led by the BC Cattlemen's Association, is designed to help the agricultural sector to protect and enhance water quality, to protect and enhance riparian vegetation, and prevent and mitigate agricultural impacts on streams, rivers and lakes.  This is accomplished by:

• Increasing understanding and cooperation between the provincial and federal agencies responsible for resource management in BC and the agricultural community regarding farmland development and use;
• Promoting the joint planning of habitat restoration and farmland activities between landowners, resource management agencies and community groups;
• Increasing awareness of interactions between land use and habitat values; and,
• Resolving conflicts that may arise between resource agencies and landowners.

Working directly with the landowners to supply technical services or workable advice has enabled FRISP to provide the reasoning behind the regulations, which brings about understanding, cooperation and stewardship through action.

Proper land stewardship requires that landowners understand riparian functions and the negative impact that riparian mis-management can have on agricultural operations, fisheries, and watershed health.  These information sessions will provide attendees with access to agroforestry-related BMP information and resources to understand their full range of management options, and with that information, help plan and implement sustainable agricultural production integrated with riparian stewardship and watershed values.

Details on specific events in this extension series will be announced through the AIDI website (www.agroforestry.info) and social media, and will be included in the Agroforestry BC Event Calendar listings (www.agroforestry.info/p/events.html).

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Funding for this work has been provided through the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative (AGF1304)

Streamside Honeybees Demonstration Website Live

The Murray Family Woodlot website now features information on their Integrating Riparian Management with Apiculture demonstration at:

http://murraywoodlot.weebly.com/streamside-honeybees.html

Learn more about this innovative use of agroforestry blending pollinators and protection of sensitive streamside habitat.

Integrating Apiculture in Riparian Buffers

British Columbia is replete with small private woodlots endowed with streams.  Riparian corridors can provide multiple benefits to land owners when managed with care to conserve the high watershed and biodiversity values that these zones provide.

The Murray Family Woodlot is a small, family-run woodlot located in the West Kootenay region near Slocan Lake.  Micheal Murray and family manage riparian, forest, and open-canopied land cover on their property.  This mixture provides opportunities to demonstrate novel approaches to land use, and agroforestry is their choice because of its integrative design, environmental sustainability, and long-term revenue potential.

With funding from the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative, the Murray Family will use their woodlot to demonstrate the benefits of blending apiculture in an integrated riparian management system.  The shrubs in this system will benefit from honey bee pollination services, just as they, in turn, support honey production.  The riparian buffer further complements the apiary by providing both a windbreak and surface water required by bees.

With the technical assistance of the Slocan River Streamkeepers, cascara (Rhamnus purshiana), high bush cranberry (Viburnum opulus), and tall Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium) will be established in the riparian buffers along two small streams in the woodlot.  These shrubs will be spaced at approximately 3- x 3-m spacing, with the exact planting locations varying to match planting conditions (e.g. soil moisture, associated vegetation) along each stream.  These species have been chosen for this multi-purpose planting, as they can positively contribute to the riparian health and function, support the apiary, and in time, yield a selective harvest of flower, fruit and other plant parts for sale as raw ingredients into the natural health products markets.

Cascara will be part of a multi-purpose integrated riparian management planting demonstration in the West Kootenay

The demonstration will provide a platform for regional woodlot and agricultural producers to see how financial gains in early stages of an agroforestry operation may be achieved by incorporating honey production into the system.  Combining perpetual shrub and honey production will also demonstrate longer-term self-sufficiency.  Information collected during the set-up and early operation of this demonstration will be used to generate a cost-benefit analysis, so that other prospective agroforestry practitioners can assess the financial suitability of this agroforestry practice to their operations.

The Murray's will be hosting a field tour and will conduct presentations and a webinar related to the project, and will soon be establishing a project website.  For more information, please contact Michael Murray at 250-354-1412.

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Funding for this work has been provided through the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative (AGF1205)

Agroforestry Session at the 2012 Hort Growers Short Course

The Lower Mainland Horticulture Improvement Association (LMHIA), with funding from the British Columbia Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative, is pleased to sponsor an agroforestry educational session at the 2012 Horticulture Growers Short Course.

The Horticulture Growers Short Course will be held in partnership with Pacific Agriculture Show, January 26-28, 2012 at the Tradex Exhibition Center (Abbotsford Airport) in Abbotsford, BC.

The Agroforestry Session will take place on Saturday, January 28 from 9 am to 12 pm in the Lobby Room at Tradex. It will be chaired by Dave Trotter, Agroforestry Specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture. The session agenda is as follows:

09:00 - 09:30
Agroforestry Initiative - Current Projects and Funding Opportunities
George Powell, BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative 
The Agroforestry Initiative has cost-share funding for projects which benefit industry development including demonstrations, workshops etc; Outlines of current and pending projects will be provided.

09:30 - 10:00
Ideas, Opportunities & Resources – An Agroforestry Retrospective
Harold Macy, Headquarters Creek Woodlot, Merville, BC
Harold will provide an overview of the synergies and considerations from his many years of experience managing a woodlot using a forest farming agroforestry systems approach.

10:00 – 10:30
Break
Harold Macy will highlight his new book: “The Four Storey Forest: As Grow the Trees, So too the Heart”.

10:30 – 11:00
Silvopasture and Range Considerations in BC - Pilot Initiatives for a Production Approach
Lisa Zabek, Ministry of Agriculture, Kamloops, BC
Learn about the new steps that are being developed to support silvopasture as a land use option in BC.

11:00 - 11:30
Huckleberries: Management Strategies for Agroforesters
Ali Kennedy, Keefer Ecological Services Ltd., Cranbrook, BC
Ali will look at the variety of berry species along with the biological and management considerations needed to develop an agroforestry system approach to huckleberries.

11:30 – 12:00
Exploring the Possibilities of Integrated Riparian Management in BC
Dave Trotter, Ministry of Agriculture, Abbotsford, BC
Dave will discuss management considerations for the development of an integrated riparian management systems approach to specialty crops on agricultural lands.

For registration information, or to register online, please visit www.agricultureshow.net or phone 604-556-3001 or 604-857-0318.

Registration fees for the entire Horticulture Growers Short Course (including the Agroforestry Session) are $67.00 (by January 9) or $90.00 (after January 9). Registration fees include membership to the LMHIA, attendance at any or all educational sessions, admittance to the Pacific Agriculture Show, admittance to welcome reception and free parking.

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Funding for this work has been provided through the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative (AGF1104)