Learn About Bee City USA
Syrphid fly on Tradescantia. Photo: Nancy Adamson
Our Mission
Bee City USA galvanizes communities to sustain pollinators--responsible for one in three bites of food we eat and the reproduction of three-quarters of the world's plant species, by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants and free to nearly free of pesticides.
(Learn about Bee City's sister program for educational institutions, Bee Campus USA, here.)
Bee City USA Communities
Hoping that Asheville would launch a movement across the nation, members of the Buncombe County Chapter of the NC State Beekeepers Association established Bee City USA. On June 26, 2012, Asheville’s City Council voted unanimously to become the inaugural Bee City USA, with both the honor and the responsibility the designation entails. In July 2014, Talent, Oregon's City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Bee City USA resolution and submitted its completed application in August for designation, followed by Carrboro, North Carolina in October. With that the movement began spreading.
We encourage community leaders across the nation to explore joining the Bee City USA movement by completing the application process. As cities, towns and counties across America become attuned to the universe of creatures that make the planet bloom, we will become more conscientious about what we plant and how we maintain our green spaces. There is much we can teach one another--both community to community and species to species.
What is Bee City USA?
Bee City USA certification is both an honor and a responsibility. Launched in 2012, the Bee City USA program endorses a set of commitments, defined in a resolution, for creating sustainable habitats for pollinators, which are vital to feeding the planet. Communities across America are invited to make these commitments and become certified as a Bee City USA affiliate.
In 2006 when honey bee colonies started disappearing, later dubbed “Colony Collapse Disorder,” beekeepers and non-beekeepers alike became very concerned. After all, one in every three bites of food we eat is courtesy of insect pollination. Equally important, three-quarters of the world's plant species rely on pollinators for reproduction. While less is known about wild bees and other pollinators than honey bees, we do know that entire species are disappearing at alarming rates as they battle most of the same enemies as honey bees--loss of habitat essential for food and shelter, inappropriate pesticide use, diseases, and parasites.
Some of Bee City USA's Founders
Photo: Leah Shapiro, The Laurel of Asheville
Many people both inside and outside of the Buncombe County Chapter of the North Carolina State Beekeeping Association are turning the concept of Bee City USA into reality. Here are a few members of the original steering committee who were able to gather for a photograph on May 1, 2013.
From left to right on top row: Janet Peterson, Ted Brown, Connie Brown, Carl Chesick, Larry Sanders, and Richard Stiles. From left to right on bottom row: Sister J SpiritVoice, Cindy Donohoo, Graham McCormick, Phyllis Stiles, and Jean-Jacques Maury.
Conspicuously missing are Joan Chesick, Diane Almond, and Dawn Nelson, who unfortunately were not able to make the photo shoot.
From left to right on top row: Janet Peterson, Ted Brown, Connie Brown, Carl Chesick, Larry Sanders, and Richard Stiles. From left to right on bottom row: Sister J SpiritVoice, Cindy Donohoo, Graham McCormick, Phyllis Stiles, and Jean-Jacques Maury.
Conspicuously missing are Joan Chesick, Diane Almond, and Dawn Nelson, who unfortunately were not able to make the photo shoot.
