Good and Green News & Updates | | |
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Bees Are So Important, They Get Their Own Day - May 20th! | Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities. Pollination is, however, a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops. To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the United Nations designated May 20th as World Bee Day. | |
Register Now for the Annual Sunrise Gardening For Wildlife Workshop on June 10 | |
Learn how to plant with a purpose! Did you know you can use native plants to create habitat to attract birds and pollinators, like butterflies and bees! Butterfly weed, milkweed, and flowering edible herbs, like dill and parsley, will attract butterflies. Flowering shrubs and trees will provide food and cover for various bugs and birds. This is a FREE, family-friendly workshop that will be held at the Sunrise Senior Center (10650 W. Oakland Park Blvd.). Registration is required as space is limited. Call 954-888-6043 or email sustainability@sunrisefl.gov to sign up!
City Calendar
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Have you heard? The Sunrise Senior Center is an Emerald Award Winning facility! | |
Sunrise Resident is a Project Perch Art Contest Winner | |
Sunrise resident Jocelyn, age 8, created a burrowing owl picture. Jocelyn and her family learned all about the owls at the Sunrise Earth Day Festival that was held at Sawgrass Sanctuary in March. As an art contest winner, Jocelyn will receive a certificate and other owl-tastic goodies. You can submit too! Project Perch offers the Art Contest year round. You can submit your burrowing owl inspired art by emailing owl@projectperch.org. Make sure to check out their new website which has lots of other educational and kids activities!
Project Perch
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Sunrise Bike & Ped Board Invites You to Bike Around Sunrise this Month | |
National Bike Week is May 15th to 21st, 2023! Join the Sunrise Bike & Pedestrian Advisory Board in a round of Bingo that encourages the community to explore the City of Sunrise's parks and bicycle lanes. Biking is a "pollution free" mode of transportation! In fact, choosing a bike, or walking, instead of driving just once a day can reduce the average person's carbon emission from transportation by 67%. Playing the Sunrise Bike Bingo is a fun way to learn the different bike-friendly features around the City - and who knows maybe you'll discover some of the places you visit are a perfect distance for a climate-friendly bike ride.
Sunrise Bike Bingo
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Bee a Part of the Solution | |
Choose to Rescue Rather Than Exterminate | |
The Broward Beekeepers Association is a local organization that encourages honeybee rescues and educates the public at events like the Sunrise Earth Day Festival (image above). Choosing to rescue helps to build strong managed and feral colonies, reduces the introduction of pesticides into our environment, and puts honeybees back into agricultural production.
Broward Beekeepers Association
| Finding Even a Small Space in Your Yard to Designate it for "No Mow May" Helps the Bees | |
Lawns cover 40 million acres, or 2%, of land in the US, making them the single largest irrigated crop we grow. Lawns are mowed, raked, fertilized, weeded, chemically treated, and watered — and provide little benefit to wildlife. Grass-only lawns lack floral resources and nesting sites for bees and are often treated with pesticides that harm bees and other invertebrates.
No Mow May is a campaign gaining traction in the US which promotes less mowing in the spring. There are several studies that illustrate how reducing the frequency of mowing benefits bees, as well as butterflies, grasshoppers, and many other insects.
Learn More
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We All Depend on the Survival of Bees | Bees carry pollen between plants to fertilize them which helps plants reproduce. | |
There are over 20,000 known bee species in the world, and 4,000 of them are native to the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Native bees are the primary insect pollinator of agricultural plants in most of the country. Crops they pollinate include squash, tomatoes, cherries, blueberries and cranberries. Native bees were here long before non-native honey bees were brought to the country by European settlers. Honey bees are key to a few crops such as almonds and lemons, but native bees like the blue orchard bees are better and more efficient pollinators of many North American crops.
Read more from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture [Blog]
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Not mowing an area for a few weeks is a simple step to take, but it is only one step and more is needed. Can you reduce your use of pesticides, and add native, Florida-friendly flower species?
Florida Wildflower Association
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