In yesterday’s program, Cathy Isom told you what the best plants were to plant to attract and feed bees. Aside from planting, Cathy lets you know there other many ways you can help and save bees. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Many Other Ways to Save Bees
Planting native flowers and plants in and around our homes are just one way to attract the bees that we need so much to pollinate many of the plants’ flowers and trees that we rely on for our food source. After all, they are responsible for pollinating approximately 250,000 plants species. About 7 
years ago their efforts contributed to approximately19-billion dollars worth of agricultural crops in the U-S. This figure amounts to one-third of the total crops that we eat each year. To help them, we must each do our part. Planting bee friendly plants and flowers is one way, but there are so many other ways to help and save our bees. Here are just a few steps you can take:
- Buy local, organic produce (grown without the pesticides that harm bees).
- If you have a backyard, one powerful action you can take is to start growing plants that appeal to bees, such as lavender, sage, tomatoes, pumpkin, and mint, among many others.
- Avoid the use of harmful pesticides while gardening.
- Leave small containers of water or bees to drink from when they visit your backyard
- Support amateur beekeepers and beekeeping organizations whose primary aim is to conserve bees, rather than profit from them. The Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees, the Back Yard Beekeepers Association, and Honey Love Urban Beekeepers are great places to start.
I’m Cathy Isom…