Become a Bee Ambassador today!

Bee Ambassadors pledge to:
· Help raise awareness about the plight of bees and other pollinators 
· Plant native and bee friendly plants when possible
· Grow more garden and less lawn 
· Avoid harmful pesticides
· Use grass seed to crowd out lawn weeds
· Provide pollinator habitat and water 

---

To become a Bee Ambassador, take the pledge below and complete the form.   
A free Bee Ambassador bracelet will be reserved for you when you sign up.

Without bees and other pollinators, humanity will
not be able to exist.

It's true.  Without bees and other pollinators, humans and animals will not have enough to eat because plants will not be pollinated.  Over the past few years the number of bees has been declining rapidly here in New York State as well as throughout the US. 

​Beekeepers in New York lost close to 50 percent of the colonies in 2017, experts say.  The numbers aren't looking much better for 2018: a loss of close to 30 percent is expected.  One of the reasons for the decline is use of a pesticide linked to colony collapse disorder.  

Some causes of pollinator decline:

• Overuse of chemicals and pesticides, such as neonicotinoids.
• Diseases, mites, and other pathogens
• Lack of genetic diversity
• Lack of year-round, diverse food and habitat

This website is under construction.  Please come back often as we add more information, and more ways you can help save bees and other pollinators.  Coming here soon will be also be information about growing your Bee Ambassador Hive, meet-ups, special projects, and much more!

Bees are only attracted to white, yellow, purple and blue blooms which are highly fragrant, In other words, despite the aesthetic appeal of a plant and its flowers, if they don’t smell fantastic, bees just won’t be interested.  Also, bees don't like red blooms because they see red ad gray, an unappealing color of food for bees and people.  Bees also tend to visit flowers with packed petals much less often as those flowers are more difficult to get to the pollen and nectar.  

The United States Department of Agriculture has a good list (with photos) of other bee-loving plants.  https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/nypmctn11164.pdf

The plant photo above is of phacelia tanacetifolia or Bee's Friend plant.  Bees love this plant which is a non invasive, native annual in WNY.  If you would like to plant some seeds from this plant, please contact the Kenmore Village Improvement Society (KVIS) -we have some that we're happy to give you, free of charge.  

What's the Buzz?  ..interesting bee facts

Out of the 4,000 bee species native to the U.S., 95% do not sting. Also, native bees have about a 91% pollination efficiency rate, compared to honey bees whose pollination efficiency rate hovers around 72%, making it important to focus upon helping all pollinating species, including honey bees.

In June 2016, Gov. Cuomo and the NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation released the NYS Pollinator Protection Plan, which takes the first step in identifying and addressing the challenges facing both native and managed pollinators across the state.
· 
It is illegal for any exterminator to kill honey bees in New York State.  If you an unwanted bee colony at your home or place of business, call a professional bee keeper and they will collect and transfer them to a more suitable location. 

Save the Bees WNY is an initiative of the Kenmore Village Improvement Society (KVIS)  
We're volunteers celebrating 11 years of helping our neck of the woods to be as good as possible in as many ways as possible.
Check us out at villageofkenmore.com  or facebook.com/kenmorevillage