Allentown Borough became the 93rd Bee City USA Affiliate in the nation! The Environmental Commission is thrilled that Borough Council shared their vision for Allentown to join the Bee City USA movement. On May 14th, 2019, the Borough Council passed Resolution 171-2019, unanimously voting to become a Bee City USA Affiliate, joining other cities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators.
Bee City USA is an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, with offices across the country. Bee City USA’s mission is to galvanize communities to sustain pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants and free of insecticides. Pollinators like bumble bees, sweat bees, mason bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds and many others are responsible for the reproduction of almost ninety percent of the world’s flowering plant species and one in every three bites of food we consume.
To maintain our certification, Allentown will be expected to celebrate being a Bee City USA Affiliate community every year. “How each city celebrates pollinators is up to them” said Bee City USA founder Phyllis Stiles. Stay tuned for information on our very first celebration coming in 2020!
Click here to view our Facebook page.
Click here to view our Pollinator Plants Gallery.
Click here to listen to a podcast on "Pollinators in Peril" from the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
Click here to find out what kind of plants thrive in our region and attract pollinators.
Have you ever seen the wildflowers growing along the Garden State Parkway? Now you can buy your own seeds to do the same at home. Click here.
Here is a list of nurseries that carry native plants to help you get started on your very own pollinator garden.
Here is an article from Mother Earth News about attracting mason bees (pollinators!) to you garden.
Here is the March Newsletter from Xerces.
Please check out the links below to learn more about Bee City USA:
http://www.beecityusa.org/
http://www.facebook.com/BeeCityUSA/
http://twitter.com/beecityusa