Bethel Township (Delaware County) Becomes an Affiliate of Bee City USA

Bethel Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania; March 7, 2024---

Bethel Township Board of Supervisors unanimously voted on Bethel Township to become a Bee City USA®, joining many other cities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators. The Board of Supervisors’ action is the culmination of effort by the Bethel Township Bee City Committee 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.

“The program aspires to make people more PC—pollinator conscious, that is,” said Scott Hoffman Black, Xerces’ executive director. “If lots of individuals and communities begin planting native, pesticide-free flowering trees, shrubs and perennials, it will create large-scale change for many, many species of pollinators.” 

“How each city completes the steps to conserve pollinators is up to them,” said Bee City USA Coordinator Laura Rost. “To maintain their affiliation, each affiliate is expected to report on their achievements and celebrate being a Bee City USA affiliate every year.”

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. 

Bethel Township has designated Bethel Township Bee City Committee the facilitating committee for Bethel Township’s efforts to engage the community in promoting pollinator conservation. The Bethel Township Bee City Committee meets invites all residents of Bethel Township to offer their ideas for pollinator-friendly initiatives. The more people and organizations involved, the sooner pollinator declines will be reversed.

For more information about Bethel Township’s Bee City USA program, contact Elana Rothenberg, Bethel Township Code Administrator, at code.secretary@betheltwp.com or (610) 459-1529 ext 2.  

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For more information about Bee City USA, visit https://www.beecityusa.org/

For more information about the Xerces Society, visit https://xerces.org/

For information about four simple ways to help pollinators, visit https://xerces.org/bringbackthepollinators/ 

Laura Rost, Bee City USA Coordinator, laura.rost@xerces.org