AUSTIN, Texas — Austin is recognizing the efforts of the community to protect our area's bees and other pollinators.
On Thursday, March 3, the Austin City Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting the certification of Austin as an official Bee City USA affiliate. The resolution by Leslie Pool (District 7) and Vanessa Fuentes (District 2) amplifies the work of the Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) and the community to protect Austin's bees and enhance their natural environment.
According to a release from Pool's office, the Bee City USA application was initiated over two years ago by PARD staff and community experts to develop a work plan to meet the requirements of the Xerces Society's certification program.
Austin's program goal is to protect and provide healthy native habitats to pollinators on both public and private lands. According to the release, pollinators – including native bees and introduced honey bees – are responsible for the reproduction of almost 90% of the world's flowering plants, including many fruits, nuts and vegetables.
"We need to be reminded of our responsibility to protect some of the smallest and most important members of our local wildlife,” Pool said. "Being a Bee City will help educate our community that pollinators are essential to a healthy ecology and frankly, to our survival."
"Becoming a Bee City is another step Austin is taking in its commitment to protect our environment," Fuentes said. "With pollinator populations declining as a result of habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change, this designation not only supports conservation, it raises awareness to the urgency of protecting the species which keep our ecosystems intact."
PARD staff aren't alone in the certification effort. They are joined by Pollinate Austin, a coalition that includes the Travis County Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, Bat Conservation International, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Me and the Bees Lemonade and others.
According to the release from Pool's office, the passage of this resolution kicks off a series of spring community activities focused on habitat installations for bees and other pollinators.
On Saturday, Pollinate Austin will install bee and bat pollinator gardens at the Austin Nature & Science Center. At 1:30 p.m., an educational speaker will share how community members can create pollinator habitats in their own yards.
The City of Austin was officially notified that it has met the standards for certification as a Bee City USA Affiliate on March 25.
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