Bee Safe Alexandria (West)

10/16/2014
If you've bookmarked this page, please update the address to the new site:
http://beesafealexandria.blogspot.com/p/welcome.html
or www.beesafealexandria.org

Thank you!


10/11/2014

WELCOME TO BEE SAFE ALEXANDRIA!

If you're here, I hope that means you're considering being part of the new Bee Safe Neighborhood in Alexandria West, near Latham and Taney!

First of all, what's a Bee Safe Neighborhood?
The campaign was started in Colorado, and the official info is here:
http://livingsystemsinst.org/content/bee-safe-neighborhoods

From the website:
A bee safe neighborhood is a contiguous group of 75 (or more!) houses that has made a pledge to commit to one or two of the following three steps:

1. Use no neonicotinoid or systemic poisons, active ingredient (AI): Acetamiprid, Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Imidacloprid, Thiacloprid, Thiamethoxam and Sulfoxaflor. Products do not indicate they have neonicotinoid content. The active ingredient is usually shown on the front of the product. Avoid products with “systemic” on the package.
2. Use no chemical poisons at all.
3. If NO poisons are being used, the neighbor can be asked if he or she will plant seeds, plants, shrubs and trees in the yard and/or garden that will attract pollinators in the spring, summer and fall.

Their main focus is on honeybees. I, myself, do not have any bee hives, but I am concerned about our honeybees and other native bees- bumble bees, sweat bees (the beautiful green metallic bees you only notice if you look carefully), mason bees, etc. Native bees are solitary (solitary bees do not have large nests and are docile and do not sting) and are excellent pollinators- in some cases even more efficient than the honeybee.

Certain pesticides that are available for sale to consumers for use in our gardens or lawns contain dangerous amounts of systemic pesticides known as "Neonicotinoids" or "Neonics" for short. Systemic means that the plant absorbs the chemical and it exists in the plant's leaves, pollen, nectar- all of the plant parts. Once they're applied to a plant- often through a soil drench, or as a spray- they persist in the plant and don't have to be reapplied every year.  Neonics are a relatively new class of pesticides that have been proven to weaken a bee's immune system. When a bee- or any other pollinator, such as a butterfly or hummingbird- visits a flower, they ingest the pesticide as well as the pollen or nectar.

In the solitary bee world, a female bee gathers a pollen supply to leave in a cavity, and she will lay an egg on top of it. As soon as the baby bee emerges, it has a food supply of pollen to eat. When the pollen contains poison, it will effect the bee right from birth.

Why do we need Bee Safe Neighborhoods?
Many of us plant beautiful blooming flowers in our gardens that attract bees. If we're attracting bees only to poison them with chemicals (which is almost like handing out poison candy on Halloween!), soon the native bees will be in a serious decline, as they honeybees have been. Native bees are already declining in some areas, but they aren't studied and managed as much as honeybees, so we don't have a good picture of what's going on with them.

To a small native bee, your yard is a great place for food and shelter! Bees don't have to go far to find food, and native bees don't go as far as honeybees. (Honey bees will travel up to 5 miles to forage on flowers!)

You may be planting flowers to attract bees, but if your neighbor has used chemicals in their yard, your bees will be exposed to them. The more houses we can get together to create a safe haven for the bees, the better! More bees will mean more pollination- your flowers will set more seeds (which will attract songbirds), your vegetable plants will have better pollination and produce more food, and you'll attract more beneficial insects as well, which will eliminate your need for most insecticides.

Another great reason for us to give up on harmful chemicals in our yards is to keep surface water from the storm drains and washing directly into Holmes Run Park. Living near a natural water source means we need to accept more responsibility and make an effort to keep the habitat healthy. A congested area and a big city makes for a lot of pollution, so even if a small group of us can make this effort, it can make a difference!

But what do I use instead of my preferred pesticide?
Luckily the end of gardening season is almost over, so you can start 2015 fresh and natural without any chemicals! If you monitor your plants on a regular basis, you can nip any insect problems in the bud before any insecticide becomes necessary.
But if things still get out of control, don't panic! There are other ways to cope with pests.

Planet Natural is a great place to start, as well as GrowSafeGrowSmart.org.

If you have questions or concerns, I'd like to address them and would love the opportunity to help you find a natural solution to your problems. Please email me at pollinatorplates@gmail.com any time.

Thanks for your interest and I look forward to hearing from you, getting to know you and your yard, and finding a sense of community together to improve habitat for all of our local wildlife.

Cheers,
Samantha



10/06/2014
Brand new page (and project!!) here!

Have you heard of "Bee Safe Neighborhoods"? It's a really great project where 75 contiguous (or, almost contiguous) homes pledge not to use neonicotinoid/systemic pesticides on their property. The organization's main focus is on the Honey Bee, but since some Bumble Bees are definitely in a state of decline (and possibly other native bees, too), I plan to focus on all bees and other pollinators as well. After all... we know that generally, butterfly gardening = bee gardening, right? So I want to do this in my neighborhood, and if we succeed, we'll be the 2nd Bee Safe Neighborhood in Virginia!

I'm hoping that by starting to organize this in the late fall, I can collect pledges throughout the winter and get people excited about their new neonic-free gardens next spring!

So if you're in Alexandria (specifically Alexandria West and even MORE specifically along Latham St. or Taney Rd., or that general vicinity!) and would like to talk to me more about this, please contact me at PollinatorPlates@gmail.com . 

If we can get a bunch of houses on the south side of Taney to pledge to stop using pesticides- or even just certain kinds of pesticides- imagine how beneficial it would be to Holmes Run and the wildlife in Holmes Run Park. I feel this is especially important for my neighborhood since we are on the edge of a park and I hope folks will be enthusiastic to sign the pledge and commit to a safer yard for our pollinators and other wildlife.

Target area

Here are some of my ideas:

- On Halloween: Dress in my bee outfit and hand out honey sticks and coloring book pages for neighborhood kids and a postcard or flier with info for adults.

- Folks who sign the pledge get a "Protect Pollinators" magnet from me!

- Bee themed garden party on my street's cul-de-sac when all 75 pledges are met.

- Encourage folks to stop by my "hell strip" garden during the spring/summer/fall to check out all of the nectaring bees!

- Hazardous Waste collection day(s) to collect pesticides that people may already have bought, but have pledged to no longer use. I will offer to come pick them up, or leave a bin outside of my house for a day or two to collect the bottles. What can I do with these pesticides after they're collected? I'm not sure what's safe to do with them or how to dispose of them, or if there is anyone who could use them in an enclosed environment, such as a greenhouse, where bees aren't visiting and the soil/runoff won't contaminate local waterways- if so, I could donate them. Someone please help if you have a suggestion! :)

- I am sure one of the first questions I'll get is, "What can I use instead?" If you have that same question, here is a perfect website to check out! 

http://www.growsmartgrowsafe.org/Products.aspx?Category=57695&SearchStr=
I'll definitely add this website to all of the info I'm handing out and make a QR code for it, too, which I may put on CUTE signs in a few places in the neighborhood for quick reference ;)

That's all for now, friends. Not quite as huge of an undertaking as the license plates, and hopefully this won't take as long! :) However, convincing people to part from their beloved and easy-to-find chemicals won't be easy.

I know, I know---- maybe it isn't neonics and other pesticides that are the problem. But you know what? The way I see it.... would it really be such a bad thing to use less chemicals even if they aren't the one and only single problem? Lawns are where the most chemicals are applied nowadays. LAWNS. How about we save those chemicals for big ag, whose job it is to increase yield and feed people, and us homeowners focus on feeding safe nectar and pollen to the little tiny guys and call it squah'!