A Pandemic

Honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. Last year was the worst case in recorded history for beekeepers who lost 44% of their colonies. What is even more alarming is some winter losses are normal but now we are losing colonies in summer which has never happened before and is cause for serious concern. Honeybees are dying off from a number of reasons which are classified under (CCD) Colony Collapse Disorder. Some of the factors contributing to this are stress from moving and transporting hives, malnutrition, loss of habitat, disease, nosema, foulbrood, wax moth, climate change, herbicides, chemicals and pesticides and one that scientists are constantly trying to find a way to defeat is varroa destructor also know as the varroa mite which will hitch a ride on a bee into the hive,then lay eggs which will feed on the young bees and ultimately will wipe out the entire hive. In human terms picture a mite the size of a pancake which attaches itself to you and sucks the blood from you. I have come across many different points of view about losing our honeybees, one of which is honeybees are not native to the U.S. That is true, they were brought over by the Europeans, an incredible feat to think of how many died in the process but some made it and survived. We then adapted to life here and adapted along with the honeybees which now contribute$14 billion to the value of U.S. crops. The other fact that has come up many times is if the honeybees die we can use mason bees and other native bees as pollinators. If we had a much smaller population that would be possible but there is simply no way they can somehow pollinate on a commercial scale to feed a 9 billion population as honeybees do. Take a second to think of what honeybees pollinate, fruits, vegetables, the herbs we use to season our foods, nuts, berries, cotton for clothing, clover and alfalfa which is the main feed for the cattle industry from which we get yogurt, milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, dairy and beef. Also coffee beans depend on pollination for increased yields, think of star bucks and your morning coffee. There are flowers for our holidays, beeswax which is used in the cosmetic industry, and lets not forget honey! We are all at a critical point and cannot afford to let our honeybees disappear. We must all do our part to help save and protect them along with ALL of our pollinators ensuring our own survival and ultimately our children's on this beautiful planet.

What We Do

HABITAT RESTORATION: We focus primarily on the front unused grass strip in front of residential areas along the side walk and road and can transform the unproductive grass into pesticide free honeybee and pollinator friendly habitat. We can plant a variety of different plants depending on what the resident prefers but primarily focus on lavender due to its hardiness, drought tolerance, pest resistance, its easy to grow, it is beautiful planted in rows as pollinator pathways and ultimately it has a long bloom time which provides important pollinator forage. We can apply this to any area and do any size project, even the smallest projects help! Our goal is to plant as much pollinator habitat as we can which in turn creates urban safe zones free from herbicides and pesticides where the honeybees and other pollinators can find safe healthy forage. We feel this is the most proactive (boots on the ground) approach to making a positive impact for the honeybees and results are proven by seeing honeybees, mason and native bees, bumblebees and butterflies show up on the new forage, most of the time within a couple of days of completion. If we can get this on a massive scale we can all help make a huge positive impact for all of our pollinators! All donations go directly to the purchase of supplies, plants and materials needed to make these projects possible and give the honeybees and pollinators a pesticide free sanctuary.

RESCUE & RELOCATION: Providing swarm removal, removing established colonies from unwanted places & relocating them to a chemical-free sanctuary in which the bees can florish & thrive.

EDUCATION: We provide public education on the negative impact herbicides and pesticides have on our pollinators and also on numerous issues from honeybee habitat to things you can do to help. We post daily on facebook about these issues and also provide tips on beekeeping, planting for pollinators and issues affecting our honeybees and other pollinators. You can follow our daily posts at www.facebook.com/NWHoneybee, just be sure to hit like.

If you would like to have us plant a bee habitat or pollinator patch but cannot afford a donation to cover costs we would love to help. Our goal is to save honeybees and promote this love as much as we can. Once we obtain enough funding through corporate or private donations we will cover the cost of supplies,plants materials and labor. Through a corroborated effort from us all we believe we truly can make a difference and save the bees no matter how big or small a project is!

How to Help

• Make a tax deductible donation

• LIKE us on facebook and share our site, the more people we can reach the greater the impact we can have!

• Plant a pollinator garden that is pesticide-free

• Simply leave dandelions alone as they are an important early source of pollen to emerging pollinators. Do not use weed killer because trace amounts of pesticides can be brought back to the hive.

• Keep a fresh water source for the pollinators. It can be as simple as a shallow bird bath with rocks in it.

• Volunteer for bee habitat restoration projects

• You can also help us if you shop at Fred Meyer and have a community rewards card by choosing our nonprofit as the organization you would like Fred Meyer to donate to! It doesn't cost a dime. Simply log onto www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards, sign in using your rewards card, search for us by name or NPO# 93402 and select our nonprofit. Fred Meyer will donate to our nonprofit a percentage of whatever you spend on groceries or merchandise.

• If you would like to add us as a favorite to your ebay page you can follow this link ebay.to/2aJSd7O

 

If you are on AmazonSmile you can help make a positive impact for the honeybees and pollinators by choosing our nonprofit for amazon to support!

 

• Use an alternative to pesticides like roundup, here is a helpful link: https://www.consumernotice.org/environmental/pesticides/roundup/alternatives/