Have you heard the buzz? The city of Austin has officially become a Bee City USA affiliate. Austin joined more than 150 cities across the country with the certification, which solidifies a commitment to conserve native bee pollinators. Bee City USA, an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, encourages communities to sustain the more than 3,600 species of native bees in the nation.
Earlier last month, the Austin City Council unanimously approved a resolution to have the city certified as a Bee City USA affiliate. The organization approved the city’s application on March 24. “Having Austin onboard is really wonderful,” said Bee City/Campus USA Coordinator Laura Rost. “It really just feels like everyone is committed to doing their best to help native bees and other pollinators.” Austin is one of the largest cities to join the network, she noted.
Austin will now be expected to report annually to Bee City USA on how much habitat the city is protecting, how many pollinator habitats have been installed, and what types of pollinator conservation education and outreach has been implemented. “Many native bees do not need a very large area to live and thrive, so even small additions of habitat in an urban area can make a big difference,” Rost said. “And though cities can have limited open spaces, there are so many lawns and gardens that people maintain and pay attention to, and there’s so much we can do with those habitats.” Austinites can create “islands of nature” within the city, she added, packing good resources in a concentrated area. Planting things like milkweed and native blooming trees can create a “haven” in an urban environment that benefits everything – including humans – in the ecosystem.
Vicki Blachman, co-chair of Pollinate Austin – the working group behind the city’s Bee City certification – says people should grow native plant species that our native bees have coevolved alongside. “The same things that support honeybees and native bees will support other pollinators, including bats, beetles, ants, butterflies, all of these things,” she said. “And when you start supporting those, then you’re supporting the bird species that eat the insects.” Bees are responsible for one-third of the food that we eat, Blachman noted. So having more people promote a healthier environment for pollinators will support human beings in the long run, she said.
Dessie Tien, president of the Beevo Beekeeping Society at UT-Austin, spoke to City Council earlier last month to support Austin becoming a Bee City. “I knew nothing about pollinators or pollination [before joining Beevo] and I was definitely one of those people who didn’t like going outside and seeing bugs,” she said. But Tien quickly fell in love with honeybees through Beevo and realized the importance of protecting all pollinators. “We need to be paying attention to lesser-known pollinators and their native ecosystems and food sources,” she said. “Those are the really important pollinators that matter and that are facing a threat right now.”
Tien says she makes sure to thank a bee “for her service” every time she sees one. “We need to make Austin more pollinator-friendly and cultivate a culture where pollinators are valued and respected,” she noted. “It means having greater awareness in the city that bees aren’t pests, encouraging people not to use pesticides, and using native plants when we can.”
See beecityusa.org for more on the organization, and for info and resources regarding pollinator conservation.
This article appears in April 8 • 2022.