Ann Arbor, Michigan, Is Certified Bee City USA Affiliate!

A bee and a beetle (perhaps the first type of pollinator on the planet!) enjoy flowers in one of Ann Arbor's Natural Area Preservation Program sites where native plants are encouraged.

Thanks to City Council's unanimous vote on June 6, Ann Arbor has met the requirements for becoming an affiliate of Bee City USA.

Numerous efforts are underway in Ann Arbor to have homeowners pledge not to use pesticides that are harmful to bees and to plant a diversity of flowers to meet their year-round needs for nectar and pollen.  

Ryan Stanton wrote a well researched article for MLIVE quoted here: "Council Member Sabra Briere, D-1st Ward, shared some of her own thoughts as the City Council approved the Bee City USA resolution.

She said it's important to recognize the relationship between what people grow and what products they use and the impact on insects and small animals.

'Part of what makes Bee City USA as important an effort as it is, is that while it focuses on bees, it doesn't limit itself to honey bees,' she said. 'It instead encourages people to promote habitats for bees and other pollinators.'"

The Environmental Commission led by the Deputy Manager for Parks & Recreation Services, Dave Borneman, has been charged with facilitating the city's efforts to be more pollinator-friendly along with Germaine Smith, Pollinator Policy Action Team Chair for the Washtenaw County Food Policy Council, and Eileen Dickinson, a leader in the Bee Safe Neighborhoods movement.

---