Let's BEE a Pollinator Haven

In honor of Pollinator Week I wrote another op-ed for the local paper...but you get to read it here first!



This week, June 19-25^th is Pollinator Week!  This year for Pollinator Week we should commit to stop the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and increase our pollinator habitat.  Illinois is in a unique position to help pollinators by restoring much needed native prairie land.  We should inspire others by becoming the first community in Illinois to pass resolutions declaring ourselves a safe haven for pollinators.

Pesticides are chemicals used to kill harmful animals or plants, and they include herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.  Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides that have a chemical structure similar to nicotine and act on the nervous system of insects.

Insecticides function in various ways.  Neonicotinoid insecticides can kill by disrupting the nervous system, acting as an endotoxin, damaging the exoskeleton, and causing infertility. While some insecticides claim to target certain species, most do not discriminate.

That means we’re not just killing pests, we’re killing all the beneficial species as well.  Hummingbirds, bats, small mammals, beetles, and moths are also important pollinators adversely affected by pesticides.  Birds and aquatic species in particular have shown high mortality rates in the presence of neonicotinoid pesticides. It is also important to remember insecticides are not killing off pests for good; they are only creating greater resistance of mosquitoes and other pests in the future.

We must stop buying these chemical products that are doing more harm than good, and we must hold officials accountable for spraying our communities.  I often see state workers spraying pesticides along the side and median areas of interstates.
 These are tankards of chemical toxins driving and spraying along the interstate.  And we need to be asking ourselves what for?! Why are we spraying unpopulated areas along interstates? Who is profiting from it? Why should we be poisoning the environment, wildlife, pollinators, and ourselves when instead we could be planting native prairie seeds?

How much of our tax money is spent on pesticides? 

When you read the material safety data sheets on even the least toxic chemical alternatives on the market, they state possible carcinogen.

We are wasting money on pesticides we apply to our yards, and we are allowing the state to use our money by killing off pollinators and the environment.

We should be asking questions such as what are these toxins being sprayed in my community?  Who is responsible for the use of pesticides in this area? What are they spraying for?  Are there safer alternatives?

 Is a trained professional applying these pesticides? What physical harm is being done to workers using pesticides?   What medical costs and injuries are associated with the use of pesticides by workers?

The good news is YOU can start helping pollinators now.  Pollinators can use all the help they can get, so start planting.  Even 1 plant on your porch or doorstep can provide food! If you have more room, you can grow a variety of plants that bloom throughout the year.  You can also help pollinators by providing access to uncontaminated water and installing bat and bee houses. Do your own research about chemicals. You can learn more at websites like Beyond Pesticides, Pesticide Action Network, and the Pollinator Partnership.

Beneficial pollinators are what make this world flourish with foods and flowers of every color.  What would the world be without monarchs, swallowtails, and honeybees? And what would be left to eat?

We should come together as a community and put {Insert City Here} on the map as a bee haven.  We need to stop poisoning the environment and let nature do as it was intended to, and the fruits of nature will unfold.