NEW ORLEANS – Bayer is following up on its successful Feed a Bee initiative that planted more than 65 million flowers in 2015 across the U.S. with a $10,000 donation to a local 4-H chapter, establishing pollinator-friendly habitats in several of the urban gardens operated by the organization throughout New Orleans.
Working with local horticulture specialists, representatives from the Bayer Bee Care Program will join Benjamin Franklin Elementary students and Orleans Parish 4-H members to break ground on a new pollinator patch in the school’s teaching garden today, March 1, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. at the school located at 1116 Jefferson Ave., and plant the ideal pollinator-friendly plants to increase forage and educate the next generation of bee advocates about the importance of pollinators.
The donation will also be used to establish pollinator patches at two other local urban gardens operated by the Orleans Parish 4-H chapter in the city.
In attendance will be Kevin Gordon, board president, 4-H Foundation, Charlotte Matthew, principal, Benjamin Franklin Elementary and Dr. Becky Langer, manager, Bayer North American Bee Care Program.
Bee health experts agree lack of food and habitat are two of the major issues affecting honey bees today. With a world population expected to grow to more than 9 billion people requiring 70 percent more food by 2050, the world’s population is increasingly relying on bees, the world’s most heavily traveled livestock, to pollinate many of the foods required for a nutritious diet and the rich diversity of the flower plants we cultivate and enjoy in our homes and gardens.
Feed a Bee is a major initiative to increase food for honey bees and other pollinators by planting more flowers and establishing additional forage acreage. Working with individuals and organizations across various sectors, Feed a Bee will help to provide pollinators with the diverse forage and habitat they need to thrive.
In 2015, Feed a Bee engaged with more than 250,000 consumers to plant 65 million flowers and with more than 70 partner organizations to establish thousands of additional acres of forage throughout the U.S.
