By: Samantha Yurek
Recently making an appearance on the front page of TIME Magazine honey bees are really starting to stir up popular interest. But why all of the sudden? About a decade ago honey bees started dying off an alarming rates. This past winter, nearly one third of honey bee colonies in the United States died or disappeared. In June over 25,000 honey bees were found dead in a Target parking lot in Oregon. Cause of death: an insecticide which contained neonicotinoids - a topic I covered back in May when the European Union took a stand and banned these killer pesticides.
Recognition of the significance of this issue is finally surfacing. Although started back in 2009, National Honey Bee Day was a more popular holiday this year. A grassroots effort by beekeepers and interest groups to promote community awareness on honeybees, this holiday was celebrates this past Saturday August 17th. The theme this year: "Beekeeping - Ask Me How to Get Started." Farmer's markets and nature centers among others all over participated, educating the public on honey bees.
All this commotion about these buzzing little creatures is beginning to pay off. The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered a reduction in the use of widely known pesticides and a change in labeling on pesticides to educate the consumer on the harm to certain pollinators.
Photo Credit: Jörg Breuning
Honey bee efforts have been popping up all over the country. These efforts have not only been seen on rural farms, but even on rooftops in the city! One example perched seven floors up, 100,000 honey bees buzz busily, hard at work to keep a Manhattan green roof flourishing. Green roofs are a great place to start an undisturbed honey bee colony. Let's not forget how important these little creatures are in our ecosystem and how essential they are to our food production. Take some time to learn more about the amazing honey bee!
Green Roof Technology doesn't allow the use of herbicides or pesticides on any green roof project since 1980!