“Pollinators are the most efficient agents of prosperity...the consultants of the natural world, supreme reproducers and they don’t charge for it. The plan to convert every street into a bio corridor and every neighborhood into an ecosystem required a relationship with them.”
— Edgar Mora, former mayor of Curridabat, Costa Rica
What's so special about Curridabat?
A suburb of the Costa Rican capital San José, Curridabat is known as “Ciudad Dulce” or “Sweet City” for good reason. It has transformed its gray infrastructure into rich, green spaces that acknowledge the interrelatedness of human beings with wildlife. During his 12 years in office, former mayor Mora guided the city urban planning initiative equating pollinators with prosperity. (1)
Beeyond the usual declaration
The city embraced prosperity by granting Pollinators, as well as Trees and Native Plants, citizenship of Curridabat. (2) A nice idea, rather than thinking of them as different from, or worse — less than ourselves — recognizing pollinators as fellow citizens. In doing so, Mora drove home the point that we interact with pollinators whether we realize it or not. They live among us near our homes, businesses and thoroughfares. Awareness of their needs is not only crucial to their survival, but to ours as well. Being conscious of our impact on them is vital to our ecosystem. Mora explained how the idea came to him:
The idea came from a narrative that people in cities are prone to defending nature when it is far away, when it is a distant concept. But they are negligent when it comes to protecting nature in their immediate environment.
In 2008, the international environmental nonprofit organization Earthwatch held a debate to determine which species was most invaluable. Which would have the greatest impact on the Earth if lost? They agreed bees are the most invaluable to the Earth. (3)
The mysterious disappearance
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the unexplained, rapid disappearance of bees. First recorded in the winter of 2006-2007, beekeepers experienced unusually high losses of their hives. The worker bees went missing, leaving behind the queen, the young bees, and hives abundant with honey and pollen. Very few dead bees were found near the colony. Without worker bees, though, the hive — no matter how healthy when the workers departed — eventually dies. (4)
There are lots of theories about why CCD has been happening, but no definitive explanation has been proven. Though the incidence of CCD has been decreasing, it still occurs in significant numbers. Keith S. Delaplane, a professor of Entomology at the University of George helped put CCD in perspective:
To the extent that we value a diverse food supply with minimized trauma to the environments where it is produced, we will place a high value indeed on honey bees and other pollinators.
But this is about more than bees. Beneficial insects such as flies, beetles, wasps, ants, butterflies, and moths are avid pollinators as well. Birds, bats and small mammals also contribute to pollination. What can we do to be good neighbors to all of our pollinators?
Perfect timing
International Pollinator’s Week is June 21-27, 2021. Pollinator Partnership offers a list of activities that help educate and inspire better stewardship of the many members of our community who work to help keep tasty, nutritious food on our tables.
Pollinator.org offers pollinator-friendly pest control strategies for your home, as well as training to become a certified pesticide applicator educator. There is a section of gardening tips for native planting based on your ecoregion. Homeowners can create a bee friendly garden and register with the Pollinator Partnership to receive a sign for their yard, encouraging others to join in. There is a bee-smart school garden kit for grades 3 to 6 complete with lesson plans, handouts, and tests.
Speaking of neighbors, our Canadian neighbor, David Suzuki, created a movement to help butterflies. Check out the seven steps to create a Butterflyway. Innovative, impactful, and most of all — fun — this citizen-led movement is bringing together like-minded people who care about the environment to create empowered communities that create real change.
The cornucopia — a goat’s horn overflowing with fruit and corn — is a symbol of prosperity. It is often seen at Thanksgiving to denote abundance as well as sharing a feast with neighbors. Let’s take some time to think about the neighbors who help create this abundance for us. Let’s honor our pollinator neighbors as important citizens, by keeping them safe and helping them feel at home.
Video courtesy of Video.net
This video uses these sounds from freesound:
“Nature sounds – Kokar bees” courtesy of flcellogrl (https://freesound.org/people/flcellogrl/sounds/199507/) licensed under CC BY 3.0
“Birds symphony” courtesy of Arnaud Coutanacier (https://freesound.org/people/arnaud%20coutancier/sounds/467096/) licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
LIVEKINDLY, author, Audrey Enjoli https://www.livekindly.co/costa-rica-bees-trees-citizenship/
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/29/sweet-city-the-costa-rica-suburb-that-gave-citizenship-to-bees-plants-and-trees-aoe
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2008/nov/14/endangeredspecies-conservation
https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/colony-collapse-disorder
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