Q and A with Niall Fahy from our partner Flow!

Niall Fahy is Strategy and Key Projects Manager at Flow and he has a really fascinating and important take on our native bees. Flow are partners with The Heart Gardening Project and have supported us both financially and strategically to which we are super grateful! It was fantastic to have the opportunity to ask Niall some questions about native bees here in Australia and around the world...

Perhaps a couple of sentences on what/who Flow is to start?

Cedar Anderson and his dad Stuart spent nine years inventing a way to gently and easily harvest honey. They launched the Flow Hive in 2015 through a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign. Since then they’ve gone on to build a successful Australian company with a mission to do good for pollinators, people and the planet. 

What do you think is the most important thing people can do to help native bees in winter?

Winter is a great time to help create forage and habitat - food and shelter - for native bees. If you’ve got plants that bloom in all seasons, any species that are foraging during winter will be glad to find flowers in your garden, or on your balcony or windowsill. Also, to create habitat, leave your gardens a little wild and organise nesting spots; logs with holes in them, undisturbed muddy areas, or (properly designed!) pollinator houses. 

Niall, you have a wonderful bird’s-eye view on pollinator corridors around the world- what can we learn here in Australia in regards to what is happening overseas?

I think collaboration between multiple stakeholder groups is key. There are some great examples overseas of researchers at universities, local and national governments, community organisations, and private/business sector donors all working together to implement wonderful initiatives aimed at helping pollinators. Promoting citizen science projects and school programs is also really beneficial. 

What are some of the other amazing pollinator corridors around the world?

In Utrecht in the Netherlands, the roofs of over 300 bus stops have been converted into bee-friendly gardens that also collect rainwater and provide cooling. And significant efforts are underway across several states in the USA to protect the migratory path of monarch butterflies which is thousands of kilometres long. 

Even though they are absolutely vital to human existence and our ecosystems, I have found that in some people there is a fear of urban nature eg insects. How can we overcome this? 

My best guess is that it’s all about awareness and education… The more people understand how vital and beautiful these little creatures are, and that we’re all part of one big mesh of living creatures, the more we can foster a sense of connection and respect. Also people’s fear of being stung is usually wildly disproportionate to the actual risk, so better baseline knowledge around the reality of that would be great too. 

What fact on native bees do you find most fascinating?

I love that in the USA there’s a type of bee (Peponapis pruinosa) that sleeps inside squash flowers in the afternoon. But the iridescent Latin American orchid bees have to be my favourite. The males fly huge distances to collect a mixture of perfumes that will impress the females, and there are certain orchids that have evolved a very intricate mechanism of pollination - it involves attracting these little bees with a powerful scent, then trapping them in place while the plant literally glues tiny lumps of pollen onto their backs. After being held captive temporarily the bee is released, and the next orchid he gathers perfume from receives the pollen. 

Flow has been a huge support to The Heart Gardening Project giving financial, business and strategic support- why?

We’re extremely happy and proud to be able to support THGP as a grassroots community project that holds such a tremendous ethos and vision! You’ve already achieved so much and are poised to set a wonderful precedent for Australia with the Melbourne Pollinator Corridor.