By Erika Rolling

Education

NWP rebrands Beaverlodge research facility with broadened focus

Aug 1, 2023 | 12:54 PM

Northwestern Polytechnic’s National Bee Diagnostic Centre (NBDC) is now under a branded facility in Beaverlodge to showcase the centre’s broadened focus on applied research being done.

The new Agriculture & Biosciences Applied Research Centre (ABARC) houses the NBDC as the heart of the facility.

ABARC is the umbrella that will enable the post-secondary institution to dive into other related research in agriculture and bioscience to give regional solutions for industry needs.

NWP’s Associate Dean Applied Research, Sivagowry Lewis said in a news release; “This is exciting news for our region, with our long-standing National Bee Diagnostic Centre (NBDC) serving as the heart of the new ABARC.”

“We are eager to share this development so our industry partners are aware that along with apiculture (the study of bees), we have the tools and resources to support research and diagnostics across the agriculture and forestry sector, including animal nutrition and forage quality, crop and animal residues, pest entomology, and bioremediation,” said Lewis in the same release.

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Along with the newly branded facility is a new logo:

• The two bee shapes represent cross-pollinated discovery and the intersection of research and industry.
• The six petals represent the cyclical six-step process of the scientific method: observation, question, hypothesis, experiment, analysis, and conclusion.

The NBDC recently received a $1.75 million funding renewal from NSERC in July to continue efforts in honeybee research and service over the next decade.

ABARC Manager Patricia Wolf Veiga said in the release; “Our Technology Access Centre (NBDC-TAC) is the only facility dedicated to improving bee health and providing innovative solutions to pollination challenges in Canada.”

“The funding support from the NSERC is essential in maintaining our ability to explore and better understand Canada’s managed and native bee communities, provide specialized training and remain a key contributor and innovator in pollinator pathogens, epidemiology and ecology,” Wolf Veiga said.

Additionally, ABARC has been awarded $175,000 by the Agriculture Funding Consortium, which unites 18 commodity groups of producers of wheat, barley, canola, bees, and beef.

The grant is said to be able to enable a continued focus on the power of pollen DNA metabarcoding to enhance pollinator health and honey value in crop landscapes. Through analyzing pollen’s DNA in honey and the bodies of bees, researchers can accurately determine the plant species a bee had visited and uncover links between bee health and landscape resources.