Seeds for the honeybees

For those of you who haven't heard yet...our honeybees are in danger. About a year ago, beekeepers started noticing that their worker bees were disappearing. The cause of this phenomenon, called Colony Collapse Disorder, is still unknown. Some think it might be due to pesticide use, cell phone radiation, habitat destruction or work-related stresses.

Honeybees play a huge role in our ecosystem which is why this is such a concern. Nearly 80% of our world's crop plants require pollination.

To help, Burt's Bees (a company that sells natural personal care products) and The Pollinator Partnership have partnered to start a puplic awareness campaign called the Honeybee Health Improvement Project. This project will focus on ways to help honeybees and beekeepers. In the absence of Colony Collapse Disorder, this task force will seek out and secure funding for innovative and important work to understand and promote genetic stock improvements, understand and promote best management practices for commercial bee keeping, and promote forage opportunities for colonies on public and private land.

To help promote a healthy planet for the bees they ask that you buy produce from local organic farmers who naturally create pesticide-free, bee-friendly environments while providing local communities with healthy fresh produce. If you sign up for this project, they will also send you free wildflower seeds to plant in your backyard for bees to live and survive.

For more info: pollinator.org/Honeybee_Health.htm www.burtsbees.com