Have You Heard the Buzz? A New Pollinator Garden is in Virginia Beach!

Written by: Diamond Wilson 

In a quiet section of Virginia Beach’s very first park – Red Wing Park - on June 23, 2021, a crowd gathered to dedicate the City’s newest pollinator garden. It consists of many nectar plants that provide food and shelter for all pollinators, including the endangered Honeybee. As stated by Mayor Bobby Dyer, “Here we have a healthy habitat. It is designed with a rich variety of native plants to sustain pollinators like bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, hummingbirds, and bats.” Pollinators are an unappreciated treasure responsible for supporting fruit and vegetable crops grown around the world, including here in Virginia. Without them, the availability of our fresh food supply would be in real trouble.

Decline in Pollinators

Bee populations have been declining due to habitat loss, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure. “Insects, birds, and bats are crucial too our ecosystems,” stated by Mayor Dyer. In Virginia alone, 80 food crops rely primarily on honeybees for pollination including, blueberries, peaches, watermelon, strawberries, and apples. Approximately 35% of the honeybee colonies have died annually in the US, and about 40% of colony losses annually in the last five years in Virginia. We need pollinators like bees to thrive in this world. Mentioned by Symsi Denson, an Operations Coordinator at City of Virginia Beach Department of Parks & Recreation, “A wise man once said if you got rid of all the bees, in four years, civilization would cease to exist. Now I’m no Einstein, but Albert Einstein is the one that said that.”

The Pollinator Garden at Red Wing Park

On October 20, 2020, Virginia Beach became an official Bee City USA affiliate, and this garden became the official Bee City USA Pollinator Garden. To conserve native pollinators, the City has been providing native plants and nesting sites, educating the public, and reducing the use of pesticides. Located at this garden is an array of many different and beautiful plants. You can catch the garden in action by seeing pollinators live and thrive in the environment. Acknowledged by the President of the Norfolk Beekeeper Association, Frank Walker, “This is not a project. This is a lifestyle.” The pollinator garden is there to live on and on to help increase the bee population. It will benefit not only the bees, but also us and the environment.

How to Improve the Ecosystem

Help the Bees! You can help bees and other pollinators by creating your very own pollinator garden! It isn’t too difficult to make your own garden or patio space for pollinators to flourish. Here’s how you can:

1.     Avoid the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides. Instead use organic products or encourage beneficial insects.

2.      Plant honeybee friendly plants. Nectar producing plants are very nourishing and attract bees. Such plants include:

-          Annuals: Zinnia and Sunflowers

-          Perennials: Aster, Goldenrod, and Coneflower

-          Shrubs: Blueberry, Holly, and Abelia

-          Trees: Redbud, Maples, and Magnolia

The greater the plant diversity, the more bees you will attract and support!

3.      Just like us, bees need water. Provide just a simple, shallow container of water in your garden. Add pebbles and stones for a resting place for the bees.

4.      Provide a home for native bees. Native bees do not live in hives. They actually live underground! Leave a space in your garden that is un-mulched or a pile of undisturbed sand for them to gain access and live.

Our Future

We can all help by supporting and establishing new community bee friendly gardens which are very beneficial. Virginia agriculture depends greatly on the honeybee for pollination. Honeybees are the single contributor for adding more than $15 billion in value to farming each year! Bees have not been appreciated for everything that they do, but you can be the change to switch the narrative. “We have to make choices on how to live better, protect better, and be better to our environment,” said by Frank Walker. Start your pollination garden today to create a better world for all!