# @denverwestword on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZflWhpBgt
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/30346953-denverwestword-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/fec375f221.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-05-08T15:54:14.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Denver Westword (@denverwestword) — https://gondola.cc/denverwestword

## Caption

Seven years ago, Andrea Montoya took her grandson to play in Boulder Creek — and her life changed forever. “My husband said, ‘Did you see that structure over there? That’s called a bee house,’” Montoya recalls. Built by local group BeeChicas, it looked like a slanted bookshelf on a pedestal. But instead of books, it was filled with wooden logs drilled with small holes.

Montoya had recently retired from her career as a physician assistant because of a rare inflammatory disease, and the bee house sparked her curiosity. “I got immediately drawn to it,” she says. “So I went home that day, sat down and started reading.”

She read about native bees, their importance to the environment, and the threats they face. “And as soon as I learned about that, I realized that all they needed was more habitat. That seemed like such a simple fix,” Montoya says.

She began to plant native flowers — first in her own backyard, then in her neighborhood. She raised money, enlisted volunteers and led planting workshops. And then she contracted with the City of Boulder to start a program in which community members could become pollinator advocates.

Montoya has now spent more than a half-dozen years advocating for pollinators and urging Boulder to save its bees. But not the kind of bees that usually get all the attention. 

🐝 Read this week’s cover story by Abby O’Brien at westword.com or at the link in our bio. 
Cover Illustration: juliekitzes 

#honeybees #bees #colorado #coloradonews #denver #denvercolorado #westword

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honeybees, denver, colorado, bees, denvercolorado, westword, coloradonews

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