In light of the travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 4th B-GOOD Consortium Meeting took place online. Project members and representatives of the B-GOOD multi-actor forum met up online between 14 and 16 December 2020. The three-day long online meeting was marked by insightful presentations, vivid discussions and an overview of the project’s developments and future initiatives.

Following a welcome address by project coordinator Prof. Dirk de Graaf and a brief overview of the agenda, the first day of the meeting kickstarter with a keynote presentation by senior researcher Dr. Sausan Ahmad, who presented the research results of an elaborate study on defining pollinator health. 

Photo: A slide from the keynote presentation by senior researcher Dr. Sausan Ahmad

Subsequent panels featured overview and discussions of the work by different project teams including the aspect of socioeconomics in beekeeping, where the SWOT/SOR analyses and assessment of stakeholder views were presented and discussed. Digital interactions and upcoming workshops with beekeepers were presented.

The panels of the first day proceeded with discussions on the phenology of floral resources and the development of the unique B-GOOD database of floral resources. The progress of the data gathering was discussed and the importance of the building of the database was stressed again as it  would not only provide concrete information on bee nutrition but also consider nutritional quality of various plants. The integration of the collected floral data into the ApisRAM model of the fifth work package was discussed in detail.

The first day of the meeting also featured panels on communication and dissemination, timing of brood rearing and nest emergence in honey bee colonies. In the end of the day, panels featured detailed overview and progress report on a number of technical innovations such as the rapid and sensitive on-site lateral flow assay screening for bee-harming pesticides, the TaqMan assay design, and the detection of paralysis viruses using serological methods.

The second day gave ground for further exciting project developments. The first session was a detailed overview of the B-GOOD project for the representatives of the B-GOOD multi-actor forum. 

The day also featured an overview of the BEEP digital logbook of the BEEP app. The dissemination and communication team of B-GOOD shared insight on the performance of the project website and social media, as well as the communication, dissemination and exploitation strategies of the project aiming to reach a wide variety of stakeholders. Discussions on the different working groups went on throughout the whole day. The end of the second day was marked by a special online social event.

 

The final breakout sessions of the meeting on day 3 allowed participants to discuss the three-tiered approach for monitoring and measurement of bee health. Final remarks of the meeting included a recap of meeting discussions. The teleconference highlighted B-GOOD’s action plans for the near future, which ultimately aim to provide guidance for beekeepers and pave the way towards healthy and sustainable beekeeping and pollination across Europe.

With the successful end of the 4th Consortium Meeting of the project in December 2020, the B-GOOD team is looking forward for the exciting project research and development in the upcoming new year!