Northern BC will have representation on beekeeping’s world stage.
Malvina Pavon, a teenager from Vanderhoof, will be one of three members of Team Canada at the International Meeting of Young Beekeepers in Slovenia this July.
“It is an annual event that brings together youth from around the world,” Pavon explained.
“It also allows them to demonstrate their beekeeping knowledge and also their skills while introducing them to other young beekeepers, their cultures, and also their beekeeping methods.”
Pavon said there will be several different categories the the beekeepers will be evaluated on.
According to the IMYB website, those include:
- manual work with bees
- recognition of beekeeper’s tools
- recognition of different sorts of honey
- microscopy and anatomy
- recognition of bee forage plans
- academic knowledge
Pavon has been beekeeping since she was a child, and her parents are beekeepers as well.
“They started in Argentina, we are originally Argentinian, and we came here to Canada in 2012, and my family, we have started a small business called Clover Fields Apiaries.”
Pavon added the cost to go to the competition is around $12,000.
“We are doing fundraisers to afford the cost of the trip,” she said.
Pavon said they’ve set up a GoFundMe page and they will also be selling honey at the Prince George Farmers Market every Saturday.