Environment > Support wildlife needed to strengthen ecosystem health.
Add borders, buffers, hedgerows.
Border landscapes with multiple species using recommended shrubs and trees.
Plant native grasses.
Help butterflies, bumblebees, and other beneficial insects with larval host plants.
Eliminate pesticides.
Avoid harmful pesticides and keep pests in check with integrated pest management techniques.
Befriend a beekeeper.
Meet local beekeepers and get the latest research for helping bee populations.
Vanishing of the Bees
The Chestertown Environmental Committee screened Vanishing of the Bees as the fourth event in its 2016 First Thursday Environmental Series.
After watching Vanishing of the Bees, audience members left parting thoughts on post-it notes to share with the community.
Film Takeaways
About the Film
1. Wow—this was a gut punch! I am attempting beekeeping here in C-town. Will hang in there. Thanks for all this awareness raising.
2. Enlightening serious info served with humor.
3. Like the canaries in coal mines, our bees are warning us of this enormous challenging crisis!! Buzzzzzz!
4. Ack! Chinese “blend” honey?!
5. We have a real “mass” of people here in Kent who are committed not only to bees but “the defense of food” and a healthy lifestyle—encouraging to have this series.
6. From NJ for evening—great movie, will recommend to Gloucester County Nature Club Program.
7. Great film!
8. Excellent movie; informative, thought-provoking, inspiring. I will definitely plant for pollinators and have bees.
Education
1. Barbara Ellis is a local gardening expert/author. She might have a lecture appropriate to our group?
2. Field trips for local students to learn about bees.
3. Some of the plants that we consider weeds are actually beneficial to pollinators.
Individual Actions
1. Buy native plants for pollinators from Adkins Arboretum nursery from May-October!
2. Come to the Upper Eastern Shore Beekeeping Association, second Wednesday of the month at the Kent Library in Chestertown
3. Join Colchester Farm CSA in Galena! Or Homestead Farms CSA in Millington! Support local produce!
4. Less lawn, more color, more bees!
5. Planting clover versus grass? Any problem with zoning in Chestertown?
6. Start a bee hive.
7. We must ask our farmers at the Farmers’ Market if their crops are grown without systemic pesticides before buying.
Community Actions
1. Bee City USA certification for Chestertown!
2. Can we make the rails to trails pathway an edible community garden?
3. Community gardens in Chestertown!
4. Plant pollinator corridors under power lines—turn an eyesore into an asset!
5. How can we give homeowners incentive to replace lawn with stormwater-reducing pollinator plantings?
Join the conversation about Chestertown and the environment in the First Thursday Environmental Series.