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Tag Archives: Bee

Save the Bees!

12 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by periwinkleporte in environment

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Agriculture, Bee, Colony collapse disorder, Colorado

By now most of us have probably heard about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) — stated simply CCD is the abrupt disappearance and death of honey bees. The reason this phenomenon is alarming stems from the fact that bees provide an essential ecosystem service by pollinating various crops, plants and flowers. According to Michigan State University bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat. Thus, it is imperative to keep bee populations happy and thriving in our communities. While most of us aren’t able (or may not want) to keep beehives on our properties, there are many ways we can support bees that require much less time, effort and attention.

Suburban Stone Age wrote a great blog post on exactly this topic recently. Click over to read the post or keep reading for a few key ways you can help the bees:

  • DON’T use insecticides, pesticides, herbicides — these can have harmful effects on bees. Whenever possible, use organic methods to control weeds and garden pests. If you absolutely must use any of these, don’t do so during the middle of the day when the bees are most likely to be foraging for nectar or pollen. But, really, the use of these is just not necessary.
  • Grow bee friendly plants — provide the bees with an abundant food supply that will continue blooming throughout the seasons. Know those dandelions so many people consider weeds? They’re actually one of the first things bees feed on in the spring. Other bee plants include cilantro, lavender, rosemary, borage, lamb’s ear, echinacea and so many more.
  • Let the lawn grow — this gives clover a chance to flower and provides the bees with nectar.
  • Supply clean water — particularly important in hot weather or a dry climate (ahem, Colorado). Fill a shallow water basin with pebbles or stones to provide a safe landing place for bees to get a sip of water.
  • Involve the community — talk to people about the importance of bees and why we should do the things on this list to ensure their survival.
  • Get involved — join a local beekeeping group and learn about urban beekeeping from the experts.
  • Support native and solitary bees, too — set up a bee house for these pollinators
  • Other resources — Friends of the Earth: 20 things you need to know about bees (pdf)

Most importantly, just take action! Start with any one of these to support your local bee community. Our food and plants depend on it!

bee on flower

— Amy DePierre

Pollination

28 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by periwinkleporte in environment

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Bee, Beekeeping, Colorado, Denver, London, Pollination

I’m a HUGE fan of Interface, Ray Anderson’s company, and the work they do.  I read their blog often, and one of their latest in a series about Biophilia was interesting and inspirational.

Discussing how London, England has 25% green space in the form of parks and gardens — 2,500 registered bee hives can be found in London, with 50,000 bees in each hive, producing 70 lbs. of honey from each hive in every season — was eye opening on many levels.

I know bees are important but the post brought how essential they are to life as we know it right into focus for me.  Attributing the following to A World Without Bees, urban beekeeping experts Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum discuss how,

if all the world’s bees disappeared, mankind would have only four years left to live. Without bees, there’s no pollination, and without pollination, there are no plants — and soon no animals, and then no humans. It’s a sobering thought that the western honeybee pollinates 70% of the food we eat.

I took the bait: curious to discover what’s going on in our local communities, I looked for some area beekeepers associations, and found too many to list. But, in case you’re interested to learn more, here are a few key ones in Denver’s Front Range.  It sounds like a pretty amazing network out there!

Colorado State Beekeepers Association
Oldest beekeeping association in Colorado, organized in Denver in 1880. 

Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association

Boulder County Beekeepers Association

Squash Blossom Bees

— Debbie Hindman

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