Buffalo State College recently installed pollinator gardens on its campus in response to the continued threat of colony collapse disorder that we are seeing throughout the world. It's good to see that more of the general public is becoming aware of the urgency of this dire situation. Without honeybees (and other pollinators) we are "at risk of losing 30 percent of food supplies and up to 70 percent of wild plant life".* With concentrated local efforts underway such as Hive City at Silo City and pollinator gardens at Buffalo State College, the hope is to broaden the awareness so that others will also join and help the cause.
That means that the more gardens that we plant and the more maintained meadow areas that we create, we can hopefully multiply these initial efforts. I'm sure that our current drought conditions have not helped, which means that we need to be watering the gardens where bees are searching for pollen.
More than anything else, we need to create a broad awareness of the issue. On Tuesday, September 18, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center East 2 on Buffalo State College campus, the Buffalo State Sustainability Council presents the Peabody Award-winning film 'Silence of the Bees'. The film illuminates the problems that honeybees face due to Colony Collapse Disorder, and what can be done to research the phenomena and (hopefully) discover a cure.
Buffalo State College is leading by example with both its pollinator gardens and the film showcasing Colony Collapse Disorder. It's up to all of us to replicate these types of efforts to ensure that our city and our planet are as heathy as possible, and so that we are able to enjoy the fruits of the honeybees' labor in the future.
*Buffalo State College
See also Bat Cloud for more environmental efforts underway in Buffalo.
They should ban those nektar bee traps that lure in 100's of bees to a tub of sweetness only to their death ......