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Dec 17
2008
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For the BeesPosted by Gardens n Gardening in green, gardening, environment, bees  |
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Photo courtesty of Fir002, WikiCommons
Calling all professional and aspiring landscape designers ...
The Harry H. Laidlaw, Jr Honey Bee Research Facility has announced a nationwide competition to design a half-acre bee-friendly garden on its grounds at the University of California, Davis. This will be a pollinator paradise that will meet the nutritional needs of honey bees and serve as a living laboratory, according to university's entomology website.
"It will provide a much needed, year-around food source for our bees. We anticipate it also will be a gathering place to inform and educate the public about bees," said Lynn Kimsey, chair of the Department of Entomology and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology. "
Designers must keep within a $65,000 budget and create a plan for a year-round garden. The deadline is January 30. Funding for the project is coming from ice cream makers Haagen-Dazs.
Read the News Release
What does ice cream have to do with bees?
The company uses about a million pounds of almonds each year for starters, the Christian Science Monitor's Diggin' It Blog reports, and almonds rely on honey bees for pollination. So do pears, raspberries and strawberries.
In fact, bees pollinate about a third of the foods we consume. Haagen-Dazs launched a campaign earlier this year to help resolve colony collapse disorder, which has killed tens of thousands of bees in recent years.
Bee specialists and scientists at UC Davis suspect suspect a multitude of causes, including pesticides, diseases, parasites, stress, climate change and malnutrition have led to the drop in honey bee populations.
A world without bees could lead to a world without flowers or fruits. Now that stings.
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