Royal Oak Becomes a Bee City USA
(City of Royal Oak, Nov. 22, 2022)
ROYAL OAK, MI – The Royal Oak City Commission unanimously voted on April 11, 2022 to become a Bee City USA®, joining many other cities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators.
Bee City USA is an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, with offices across the country. Bee City USA’s mission is to galvanize communities to sustain pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants and free of insecticides. Pollinators like bumble bees, sweat bees, mason bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, and many others are responsible for the reproduction of almost ninety percent of the world’s flowering plant species and one in every three bites of food we consume.
The city commission’s vote was made after a presentation by Bee Tweens of — a group of nine middle schoolers who live in Royal Oak and are passionate about protecting the environment and taking action to help our pollinators.
“Our city commission let it be known that they understand the importance of sustaining pollinators, and want to make the city more pollinator friendly,” said Amanda Herzog of the Royal Oak Environmental Advisory Board. “We are thrilled that they share the Bee Tweens vision for Royal Oak to join the Bee City USA movement.”
“How each city completes the steps to conserve pollinators is up to them,” said Bee City USA Coordinator Laura Rost. “To maintain their affiliation, each affiliate is expected to report on their achievements and celebrate being a Bee City USA affiliate every year.”
The Royal Oak Environmental Advisory Board will be the facilitating committee for city’s efforts to engage the community in promoting pollinator conservation, which includes holding public awareness activities and preparing an annual report on habitat enhancement activities.
Bee City USA especially encourages school gardens and educational programs for children.
For more information about Bee City USA, visit https://www.beecityusa.
For more information about the Xerces Society, visit https://xerces.org/
For information about four simple ways to help pollinators, visit https://xerces.org/
