Buzzing with activity

There’s been a lot of buzz about the decline of bees recently, and rightfully so. Bee populations everywhere have seen sharp declines due to a variety of reasons including a harsh winter and the on-going use of deadly pesticides. We depend on bees for pollination, ensuring crops flourish and we have food on the table. Without bees, we’d be in a great deal of trouble.

One area where bees are especially lacking is in urban environments. With a rise in community gardens, people growing vegetables on backyard patios and on rooftops, bees are essential to the pollination of these food crops. With this in mind, GreenUP introduced two beehives to the GreenUP Ecology Park where they have been making themselves at home since early August.

GreenUP’s Ecology Park bees will be providing pollination services to gardeners in the city, increasing local food security and yields from gardens and fruit trees. Located in the park’s meadow space, the bees have been getting acquainted with their new surroundings, and doing what bees do best—pollinating. With a lack of urban bees, it’s our responsibility to ensure that colonies are built up and can thrive in an urban environment. The introduction to bees at GreenUP Ecology Park is a first step in the right direction.