More Than A Sting
Growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, bee stings were a regular occurrence. Once stung, you knew the power of the bee, but for most of us, the pain and tears from a sting were a part of childhood. We never thought these pesky-yet-beautifully intricate insects would one day become endangered.
Likewise, we may brush off the concept of pollination as merely another component of the world’s biosphere. We do not realize the complicated domino effect spurred on by pollination, and the devastating consequences if precious pollinators become even more endangered or eventually extinct.
Smoky Mountain Living recently sat down with Phyllis Stiles, founder of Bee City USA. She shared some enlightening statistics about pollinators. For instance, 90 percent of the world’s plants depend on pollinators to reproduce and 1-in-3 bites of food we eat comes courtesy of insect pollination.
In late 2006, North American beekeepers witnessed a mysterious phenomenon dubbed “Colony Collapse Disorder.” Adult bees began abruptly vanishing from hundreds of colonies, deserting the queen and her brood. Currently, it’s believed the honey bee population decline is caused by a complex combination of factors, including diseases, parasites, mono-cropping, and exposure to insecticides, fungicides and herbicides. These so-called enemy forces progressively weaken pollinators’ individual and collective immune systems.
Stiles’ husband was the original inspiration that ultimately led to the inception of Bee City USA. He attended a weekend of intense Bee School in Asheville, North Carolina, and kept bees for several years before Stiles joined him.
“Eventually, I went to Bee School as well. And they had me at hello,” Stiles said.
After completing Bee School, Stiles watched movies, read books, attended talks, joined committees and soaked up every bit of information she could find regarding pollinators and the decline of pollinator species.
Then at age 55, she said to herself, “I’ve got to do something about this. I’ve got to help these pollinators.”
One Monday night at a Buncombe County Beekeepers Club meeting, Stiles stood up and told the attendees her crazy idea to start an organization to educate the public and hopefully save the pollinators. As she relayed this story to me, her voice caught in her throat. The emotion behind this endeavor was clear.
She and several others developed a steering committee to develop their vision plan and goals. They decided to model their efforts after Tree City USA. The Tree City organization requires commitment at the highest level and engagement at the lowest level. They desired legislative buy-in, but they also wanted to spark excitement in everyday citizens, even children.
On June 26, 2012, as a result of Stiles’ and her club’s efforts, Asheville City Council resoundingly voted for Asheville to be the inaugural Bee City USA.
The goals of the Bee City USA organization are to raise awareness, enhance habitats and celebrate achievements. Each city also has several requirements, which include city council voting to adopt a resolution, hosting one annual awareness event to engage the community about pollinator conservation and renew every year with a description of what you did the year prior.
“Our overall goal is to mobilize and galvanize communities throughout the U.S. through outreach and education,” said Stiles. “This is a significant problem with devastating long-lasting effects.”
Asheville’s Bee City organization flourished and evolved for two years before other cities joined. The second city to become a Bee City USA was Talent, Oregon. Now there over 100 bee cities that span the nation.
The current decline in pollinators is unsustainable. Pollinators are integral to agriculture in numerous ways such as increasing the yield, taste and nutrition of produce and beef. The U.S. isn’t the only country on a mission to save bees and other pollinating species. The U.N. created a task force specifically to research the decline in pollinators and develop strategies and organizations to combat it on a global scale.
Stiles and her team plan to continue their work with Bee City USA. They want more and more cities to join the organization. They also have Bee Campuses where colleges and universities embrace the same mission and are expected to achieve the same goals as Bee Cities. Stiles believes involving young adults also teaches younger generations to be more PC (pollinator-conscious). As the Bee City organization grows and evolves, it’s the goal of all involved to not only improve the lives of pollinators but to teach humans to be more altruistic and empathetic to even the smallest of earth’s creatures.
It may sound like a cheesy quip but as Stiles said, “Our planet truly is bee-loved. We depend on pollinators more than we ever realized.”
Learn more at beecityusa.org