The line at the pollinator all-you-can-eat buffet is a little longer this year thanks to the contributions of consumers and partners joining Bayer’s Feed a Bee initiative to plant more than 65 million flowers in 2015.
More than 250,000 consumers joined the initiative to feed pollinators as the Feed a Bee website and #FeedABee hashtag went viral. By the end of the year, more than 70 organizations joined the fight pledging thousands of acres of land to the pollinator potluck dinner; all while educating the community about the role bees play in producing the fruits, nuts and vegetables we enjoy every day.
“When we talk to the public, the most common question we hear is, ‘What can I do to help bees?'” said Dr. Becky Langer, manager of the North American Bee Care Program. “Providing pollinators with abundant, diverse food sources is one of the most important things we can all do to promote bee health. We created Feed a Bee to make it easy for people to be involved, and we are delighted with the overwhelming response. We look forward to getting even more people involved this year.”
Studies have shown when bees have access to adequate, diverse food sources they are better able to withstand the stresses caused by the devastating Varroa mite, as well as other mites and diseases. Through Feed a Bee, Bayer is working to increase forage options for bees and other pollinators at a time when agriculture is relying on them more and more to help produce enough food to feed a growing world population.
The first year of the Feed a Bee program set the bar high, and Bayer aims to generate even more buzz in 2016 by establishing national partnerships and educating more consumers about what they can do to get involved and help pollinators thrive. Through online activations and events throughout the year, Bayer hopes to reach new audiences to surpass the milestones Feed a Bee achieved in 2015.
“We’ve seen some great news in pollinator health in the past year from increasing population numbers to heightened involvement from consumers and other stakeholders,” said Jim Blome, president and CEO of Crop Science, a Division of Bayer. “We still have much work to do to ensure the future health of our honey bee colonies, but we hope the foundation we have from Feed a Bee will continue to bring more partners to the table.”
