Save the Bees!
Thankfully in the City of Yakima our people have been becoming more aware of the importance of pollination and the need of maintaining a healthy environment. An example of our town people’s positive contribution is the increasing popularity of Urban beekeeping, and also the growth of more parks and private/public gardens have been attracting more bees.
So what is urban beekeeping? Urban beekeeping is the practice of keeping bee colonies in towns and cities to help keep bees healthier than bees in rural areas where it’s common to have monoculture farms. Urban beekeeping not only helps bees stay healthier, but it also boosts our cities and towns ecosystem by supporting the pollination of local plants, from home gardens to parks which produce more sustainable food systems like the quality of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and it creates higher honey production, and who doesn’t love a batch of high quality honey?
Even though the growth of beekeeping is super beneficial to our environment, it has its difficulties. Urban beekeeping is something that needs to be thoroughly studied before practicing. There’s dangers like bee-stinging and unsustainable solutions. Beekeeping is time-consuming and requires a lot of committed management that requires equipment that comes with cost. However, just because urban beekeeping isn’t easy or cheap, it’s still healthier than having monoculture farms.
Monoculture farms are known to lack biodiversity, negatively impact the environment, degrade soil, and it creates a vulnerability to pests and disease. It also poses a significant threat to bee populations and their well being. The lack of dietary diversity worsens the bee's immune system since bees require diverse floral resources and food sources that monoculture farms don’t provide, such as nectar in flowers for energy, pollen for protein, vitamins, and minerals. Bees won’t be able to pollinate or create honey for our environment due to those limitations.
Urban beekeeping is transforming Yakima as it expands. With our help we can improve our environment and the well being of our bees. Another way to help bees survive is to plant bee-friendly flowers, staying away from pesticides, creating more water resources, supporting our local beekeepers, and advocating for bee-friendly policies! Bees are known to love plants and flowers like borage, lavender, clover, coneflowers, and sunflowers since they provide a vast amount of nectar and pollen. Make sure to also check out for all-season-long flowers like gaillardia, coreopsis, and verbena which are amazing for bees and maintain a colorful garden.
