Becky Gillette – Concerns about the worldwide decline in bees and other pollinators has been linked to decreased habitats in the wild, landscaping with non-native plants that provide no food for pollinators, and long-acting pesticides targeted towards plant pests that inadvertently kill pollinators. Without pollinators, about 85 percent of plants would be unable to produce seeds or fruit, with drastic consequences for the world’s food supply.
People in Eureka Springs who want to do something about it by educating others about what kinds of plants to put in their backyards and other steps that can be taken to protect the bees are having a Pollination Celebration on Thursday, June 23, from 4:30 – 7 p.m. at Basin Park.
At 5 p.m. Mayor Butch Berry will officially proclaim Eureka Springs the first Bee City USA in the State of Arkansas, and only the 17th in the country. Bee City USA is about making the world safer for pollinators, one city at a time.
Bee City USA (www.beecityusa.org) is a movement growing across the country, Beth Liebowitz, one of the members of the Eureka Springs Pollinators’ Alliance said. Just since Eureka came on board, the number of Bee City USA towns in the country has increased to 22.
“It is really catching on,” Leibowitz said. “Check out the Eureka Springs Bee City USA Facebook page and share it.”
The celebration will include a video and informational pamphlets about what you can do to make your backyard, and the entire city, a haven for honeybees. There will be catalogs of native plants essential to pollinators, wildflower seeds, a raffle for a basket of garden goodies, and door prizes.
Beehives will be on display (sans the bees, of course), samples of bee keeping equipment including bee suits and smokers, and taste testing of local honey. Honey takes on the flavor of the plants being pollinated, so it can vary in taste. And fans say if you compare local honey to that bought in the store, you will taste an amazing difference.
Also on display will be some of the flowering native plants that attract pollinators to your garden. Native plants are not just hardy and important to the local ecology, but well worth planting for their attractiveness alone.
Ken Trimble, founder of the Eureka Springs Pollinators’ Alliance, said it is important not just to have native plants attractive to pollinators, but also have those plants bloom in succession so there is food for the pollinators throughout the season.
“What we can do as homeowners does make a difference,” Trimble said. “In addition to planting native plants, there are simple things you can do like putting out floating sticks or pebbles in small containers of water for bees to get a drink. Or you can put out solitary bee nests such as those for Mason bees. Buying local honey also supports a healthy bee population in the area.”
“There are a lot of beekeepers in Carroll County,” said Patrick Edwards, a beekeeper from Garfield who operates Prepper Bee Supply in Garfield. “We try to educate people about what chemicals to stay away from. Everyone wants to save the bees.”
Caution: Bee keeping can be so fun it is addicting. Edwards’ wife, Kelly, started with one hive and is now up to 56.
There are a number of beekeepers in the Eureka Springs Pollinators’ Alliance who are happy to provide mentoring for people starting out in beekeeping. But while this is designed to be a “show and tell” for beekeeping, you don’t have to be a beekeeper to be involved.
The Southern Plains region is home to a diverse mix of eastern and western pollinators including the monarch butterfly, other butterflies, moths and hummingbirds, all which are under threat. Providing wildflower-rich habitat is the most significant action you can take to support pollinators, according to The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
Information from the Xerces Bring Back the Pollinators campaign will be available at the Pollination Celebration. That campaign is based on four principles: Grow pollinator-friendly flowers, protect bee nests and butterfly host plants, avoid pesticides, and spread the word. People can participate by taking the Pollinator Protection Pledge and registering their habitat on a nationwide map of pollination corridors found at www.bringbackthepollinators.org.
The Eureka Springs Pollinators Alliance will be continuing to meet regularly and is planning other upcoming projects. For more information, contact Trimble at libertysvc@sbcglobal.net or by calling (479) 981-0072.