Newport News announces new Bee City USA affiliation

By: City of Newport News

The city of Newport News and the Newport News Green Foundation
have announced that Newport News is now a Bee City USA affiliate. The
announcement event took place October 18, at the Green Foundation’s
Chatham Trail property in Newport News where the city’s first Bee City USA sign was installed and unveiled.

Bee City USA’s mission is to galvanize communities to sustain pollinators
by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants
and free of insecticides. While bees are the most important pollinator,
butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, wasps, bats, and hummingbirds also
contribute to pollination. According to Bee City USA, there have been
significant declines in native pollinator population sizes and ranges
globally as a result of habitat loss, the use of harmful pesticides, and
climate change. As a Bee City USA affiliate, Newport News is working
to become more “P-C” (pollinator conscious) and expanding on our
pollinator-friendly community, while encouraging residents to follow
the four simple steps to bring back pollinators – grow pollinator-friendly
flowers, provide nest sites, avoid pesticides and spread the word.

Rebecca Fass with the Huntington Garden Club and Dale Banning with the
Hampton Roads Garden Club brought the idea of becoming an affiliate of
Bee City USA to the city’s attention. The two women will now be serving
as co-chairs of the Newport News Bee City Committee, which will focus
on habitat development, education, and information. The Newport News
Green Foundation, whose mission is to preserve, transform and promote
green spaces throughout the city, designated the perfect pollinator spot at
Chatham Trail as the site of the first of many Bee City USA signs that will
be posted throughout the city.

For more information about Bee City USA, visit www.beecityusa.org.
For information about four simple ways to help pollinators, visit xerces.org/ bringbackthepollinators.