Despite being the middle of winter, a record number of people (more than 65) attended the OFF July Monthly meeting, in person and on ZOOM. Nikki Leung is a local wildlife photographer, who has been regularly photographing birds in Oatley Park and Line Kiln Bay since late 2022. Following the impact of the Varroa mite on European Honeybee populations locally, Nikki wanted to find out about the native bees that are rarely mentioned in the media.
In her presentation, Nikki shared her extensive knowledge and photos on the native bees found in and around Oatley Park- over 2025 and 2026. Nikki showed us a whole other world of bees, that most of us walk by and don’t even notice. Nikki shared information and photography on bees she found in Oatley Park, their role in the ecosystem and what we can do to help them. It was a fabulous, educational and very enjoyable
Nikki has also offered to take small groups of people on a bee finding walk in Oatley Park. Numbers are limited- but if interested – please contact Sonia on 0414 805 587 for further details.
PROMO
Nikki Leung, a local wildlife photographer, will present her ongoing research into native bees found in and around Oatley Park over 2025 and 2026. She has been regularly photographing birds in Oatley Park and Lime Kiln Bay since late 2022. Following the impacts of the Varroa mite and its control program noticed in European honeybee populations locally, she wanted to find out what else was found in this environment, especially the native bees that are rarely mentioned in media.
Native bees are a vital part of the natural ecosystem, but for many people it is often only the commercially-used introduced European honeybee that comes to mind. There are an estimated 2000 species of native bees across Australia, but there is still a lot more to learn about them in local spaces. She will talk about our native bees, a background on them, their role in the ecosystem, what bees she found across Oatley Park and surrounds, and what we can do to help them.
This meeting will be held in the Oatley Uniting Church Hall at 7.30pm and on-line by ZOOM. The ZOOM link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3742141020?omn=86110187560 or open ZOOM & enter meeting ID: 374 214 1020.