The Problem
Many people dislike bees and are afraid of them. However, these bees are essential for our everyday lives. From the nutritious fruits and veggies to the honey that sweetens our lives, bees play a huge role in their production. In order to help them pollinate all these plants, bees need many different types of wildflowers and weeds. Unfortunately though, these bees and their habitats are becoming more and more in danger of dying out. The main threats against bees are parasites, poor nutrition, and the phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Another main cause for the death of bees is urbanization. In my neighborhood of Holmdel, NJ, a huge community was just recently constructed on an old, overrun stretch of land. The natural plants and flowers had been a great source of pollen for the nearby bees. However, these were all replaced with more pretty flowers that were not beneficial to the bees. Roads filled with cars also proved to be a problem for the bees. The oncoming traffic hit and killed many bees as they try to fly across the street. All this has become a major setback to the many backyard beekeepers in Holmdel. We would like to start a bee friendly park that is filled with plants that are beneficial for bees. This park will be just like every other park except that it will be known that bees may be a frequent park-goer just like the people. We would find where most backyard beekeepers live and pick the most centralized place to start our park. This extra source of pollen will hopefully help the backyard beekeepers in our community keep up the good work!