Shelly Candel, the Founder of Bee City Ambassadors Program, proves that individual efforts can make a difference in tackling environmental challenges. In 2016, Shelly launched Bee City Canada, a registered charity dedicated to protecting pollinators by engaging communities to plant native trees and plants and manage habitats for pollinators. In 2020, she expanded her efforts by creating the Bee City Ambassador Program and delivering interactive presentations for students from JK to Grade 6, teaching them about pollinators and the importance of pollination.
Shelly’s dedication has touched countless lives and inspired others to take action for the environment. By 2024, Bee City Canada had over 180 members nationwide. Participants commit to creating and maintaining habitats for pollinators, engaging and educating their communities, and celebrating pollinators annually during Pollinator Week in June.
After studying agriculture at the University of Guelph, Shelly began her career in research before moving into entrepreneurship. Concerned about climate change and biodiversity loss, she sought ways to connect people with organic food and sustainable farming. This led to her founding a farmers’ market at Edwards Gardens in Toronto.
Her interest in pollinators began when she met a beekeeper at the market and learned about their essential role in ecosystems. Inspired, she founded Bee City Canada in 2015 after hearing about Bee City USA. Within a year, Toronto became Canada’s first Bee City, and the program grew to include over 100 affiliates across the country.
Recognizing children’s enthusiasm for protecting pollinators, Shelly launched the Bee City Ambassadors Program, which has reached 50,000 Canadian students. In 2023, she co-founded Bee Ambassadors Canada with Gabriel Slater, establishing a registered charity to continue educating and inspiring the next generation of pollinator advocates.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shelly was inspired by the concept of Miyawaki mini-forests, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. She planted a 30-by-100-metre mini-forest with 900 native trees and shrubs on her land in Mono. The project was a collaborative effort involving community members, including a landscape architect, an organic soil consultant, a retired arborist, and enthusiastic volunteers such as the Greys for Green group. Together, they created a habitat for pollinators, restored biodiversity, and planted a forest that will absorb significant amounts of CO2.
Shelly encourages others to look to existing environmental initiatives for inspiration and take even small steps toward positive change. Her vision for expanding Miyawaki forests and her continued work with Bee Ambassadors Canada demonstrate how individual commitment can lead to meaningful and lasting environmental progress.
Source: Innisfil Today
