Visit the Silk Bee Line: An Urban Pathway for Montreal’s Pollinators, All Summer Long Français

In celebration of World Bee Day on May 20th, Silk Canada ("Silk") has collaborated with Pollinator Partnership Canada and local merchants to launch the "Silk Bee Line" in Montreal - a unique urban flower route that helps traveling pollinators safely get from one green space to another. The Silk Bee Line will be open to consumers, (and pollinators), along Place de Castelnau, all summer long, and features participating businesses with plants to guide pollinators through the line, along with a pollinator inspired mural, created by Canadian artists Marc-Olivier Lamothe and Cath Laporte.

Pollinators have a powerful impact on our society and climate; we owe them a third of the food we love to cook and eat every day, including many Silk products. Pollinator populations are in decline in urban areas due to a loss in feeding and nesting habitats. Connectivity between flower patches is critical. Depending on the type of bee, the distances they are able to travel can vary from many kilometres, to as little as 100 metres! Habitat corridors, like the Silk Bee Line, make it possible for bees of different foraging ranges to travel between patches and get the food that they need. Just as humans depend on sidewalks, roads and public transport, pollinators, such as bees, depend on flower routes to get around.

"Part of our mission is to support health through food and this initiative is a way to show our commitment to regenerative agriculture practices and using our scale for good," says Fiona O'Brien, Marketing Director at Danone Canada. "Silk is dedicated to supporting our pollinators and we want to encourage Canadians to also do their part."

Throughout World Bee Day and the opening weekend of the Silk Bee Line, on May 20th/May 21st, visitors will be able to pick up a package of bee-friendly seeds to help to further expand the Silk Bee Line and help pollinator populations in urban areas. Café Larue will also be offering free coffee made with Silk Almond Beverage. Silk has the only Bee Friendly Farming CertifiedTM almond beverages in Canada, and they would not be possible without a little help from the bees.

The Silk Bee Line is an expansion of the Silk Bee Hotel billboards initiative, currently in its third year, and is a demonstration of Silk's ongoing commitment to sustainable practices. In partnership with the Université de Montreal, Silk installs Bee hotels, (houses made of local wood that allow pollinators to rest and reproduce), on billboards across Canada to study native bee populations and pollination around the billboards.

"We're proud to partner with Silk to promote pollinator health and raise awareness about the importance of pollinators in our ecosystems," says Kelly Bills, Executive Director at Pollinator Partnership Canada. "Many pollinator populations are in decline and this decline is attributed to a combination of factors including the loss of habitats. Together, we can all do our part to support healthy and sustainable pollination."