Save the Bees: Eat Ice Cream

Lynn Coulter — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:00:09 +0000

Here’s the buzz: the humble honey bee has gone missing from our gardens lately. In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a shortage of our fuzzy, buzzy little friends, and fewer of them are visiting our fruits, flowers, and vegetables for the pollen that they turn into rich, sweet stores of honey. Researchers think the bees are disappearing because of a mysterious problem known as colony collapse disorder. Entire hives can die out overnight, and no one knows why, although scientists theorize that the bees may be suffering from deadly mites, viruses, or simply the stress of being moved around as farmers rent out their hives to pollinate crops in distant states.

Does it really matter? Wouldn’t a bee-free picnic be nice for a change? No, no, no. According to Robert Brewer, an Agricultural Extension Coordinator for Towns County, GA, bees pollinate about 85 to 90 percent of our food crops here in the U.S., crops worth $15 billion each year. We need the little guys, especially in California, where most of our almond crop is grown.

The good people at Haagen-Dazs are feeling the pain–not from bee stings, but from the lack of bees. According to an online article in The Christian Science Monitor, Haagan-Dazs uses a million pounds of almonds a year in their frozen treats, so they’ve launched a campaign to raise money to help. They’re testifying before Congress for research money, selling a special honey-flavored ice cream, and even sending break dancers dressed like bees to perform across the country. How much more serious about bees can you ”be,” so to speak?

Want to help? Haagen-Dazs is also sponsoring a contest to design a half-acre honeybee garden for the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis. Anyone can enter, but the deadline is Jan. 30. One limitation: you have design a year-round garden that costs no more than $65,000 to install. This is a terrific publicity opportunity for landscapers and designers, and who knows? The sponsor might even throw in some of their delicious honey-flavored ice cream!

To learn more about bees, wing your way over to the flower show on Jan. 30 to hear Jim Quick, of UGA, give us the “Bee Buzz.” He’ll have tips for planting a bee-friendly garden, and on using organic practices to avoid harming bees with harsh sprays and chemicals.

Until then, save a bee. Eat some ice cream!

cheers,

Lynn

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Save the Bees: Eat Ice Cream