In early February DDEC Volunteers met with members of Panja Brigalow Aboriginal Corporation to work through funding options for potential environmental management projects. Panja Brigalow represents the local Gambuwal people who are seeking to develop cultural and land management activities on their traditional country in the area south of Millmerran towards Inglewood and the Dumaresq River.
The following week we joined Panja Brigalow again for a day on country in an area of Brigalow-Belah scrub on a State Forest reserve in Gambuwal traditional land south of Millmerran. The visit had two purposes, one to re-locate a number of stingless native bee hives from back gardens in Toowoomba to a strategic site which has access to a groundwater seepage area in the scrub. Secondly, to meetup with Saverio Russo from the Billion Bees Foundation*. Saverio brought along a sample of a new hive especially designed to suit the smaller and more delicate native bee populations in Australia and joined the team in the relocation of the hives close to the water source.
Meetings between DDEC volunteers and the Panja Brigalow team will continue as their business ideas firm up and develop into environmental projects.
*The Billion Bees Foundation was established in 2020 in an effort to re-populate bushfire damaged forests with Australian native bee populations. The Foundation distributes hives to community projects across NSW and Queensland.
https://billionbees.com.au/about-us/
Blakehurst resident starts project to grow native bee population
By Jim Gainsford Updated November 25 2019 -
It's an idea that's set to generate a lot of buzz. Blakehurst resident Saverio Russo is starting a
project to save the Australian native bee population. He is setting up the Billion Bees Foundation to
propagate the native bee population of Australia by distributing hives to schools, community
gardens and organic farmers.
Savarerio said that the aim of the foundation is to give nature back the upper hand. "I want to
maintain a healthy native bee population because under current conditions with land-clearing and all
the chemicals that farmers are using, native bees are getting hammered," Saverio said.
"Australian native bees are little and they don't come out of the hive unless it is over 18 degrees.
"Native bees are more delicate and for this reason there has never been an attempt to use them to
make honey for commercial purposes. "The native bees are competing with the European bees so
when they do get out of their hive the flowers they go to have probably been visited by the European
bees.
""By setting up the Billion Bees Foundation we want to donate hives to all the schools along the east
coast, particularly in areas where native bees thrive." "In the next eight years we want to distribute
10,000 hives. This will include all the organic farmers in the vicinity of Sydney will also get these
bees.
"Sydney council become the protagonist to help farmers pollinate. "The European bees have got the
Varroa mite, a parasitic mite that attacks honey bees. But native bees don't have it, so there is a big
role to play in providing pollinators. "And in Sydney suburbs the native bee grows eight tiems faster
than in its natural habitat."
Saverio is setting up the Billion Bees foundation through his family company, Roma Pizzeria
Restaurant at South Hurstville. Last week he drove to Queensland to bring back 39 hives.
"I started in July and so far have got 48 hives. The target is to have established 10,00 hives in eight
years." Saverio was inspired to start the Billion Bees Foundation because of his son, Edoudo, 4,
has an interest in insects. "Originally I was going to buy him a lady bug pack but they have to be
kept in a tank so it wasn't a natural environment.
"I didn't want my kids to have pets in an artificial environment. I wanted them to have something that
is kept in the wild. "The bees are the best pets because there is literally no maintenance on them.
The less interference they get the better."
Saverio said once the foundation is up and running there will be a need for volunteers to help in
collecting and distributing hives. He said the St George Men's Shed at Carss Park and the Mortdale
Men's Shed will be building the hives.
"We are including the whole community. We will have the school children involved and we have the
other end of the age spectrum. It becomes a full circle."
The Billion Bees Foundation facebook page is at
https://www.facebook.com/Billion-Bees-115359786589413
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