Contact: Kay Kuhlmann
Council Administrator
Administration
651.385.3612
kay.kuhlmann@ci.red-wing.mn.us
(August 14, 2023, Red Wing, Minn.) – Red Wing City Council voted on May 22 to become a Bee City USA®, joining other cities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators. The vote was the culmination of efforts by the City’ Sustainability Commission to accomplish this affiliation.
Bee City USA is an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, with offices across the country. 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. Pollinators like bumble bees, sweat bees, mason bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, and many others are responsible for the reproduction of almost ninety percent of the world's flowering plant species and one in every three bites of food we consume.
Sustainability Commission Council Liaison Becky Norton said, “Our City Council let it be known that we understand the importance of sustaining pollinators and want to make the city more pollinator friendly.”
Each affiliate should hold public awareness activities; publicly acknowledge the commitment to the program through a standing committee, signage and web links; and prepare an annual report on habitat enhancement activities.
Bee City USA especially encourages school gardens and educational programs for children.
The City has designated the Sustainability Commission the facilitators for efforts to engage the community in promoting pollinator conservation. The commission meets the fourth Tuesday of the month for meetings or workshops and invites all residents of Red Wing to offer their ideas for pollinator-friendly initiatives. The more people and organizations involved, the sooner pollinator declines will be reversed.