By Lee Pierre
On Friday, May 12, the City of Roanoke held a kickoff event at Vic Thomas Park to announce Roanoke as a Bee City USA affiliate city and unveiled Roanoke’s first Bee City sign. All in attendance were awed by the presentation as well as honored by the distinction.
Mayor Sherman Lea Sr. welcomed all to the event acknowledging key dignitaries in attendance: Vice Mayor Joe Cobb, Luke Priddy, Michael Clark (Parks and Recreation), Leigh Anne Weitzenfeld (Office of Sustainability), Lisa Soltis (Economic Development), Freeda Cathcart, (Soil and Water Conservation), citizens of the community and numerous others. He gave additional accolades to the Roanoke Valley and Mill Mountain Garden Clubs for their collaboration and work with the Roanoke City Department of Parks and Recreation and Sustainability in making the designation happen.
“Many of the great things accomplished in our community happen when we work together. I sincerely think we need to celebrate the kind of public/private partnership that makes our city work at its best,” said Mayor Lea.
At the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Garden Club of Virginia, member clubs across the state were challenged to return to their cities and collaborate to pursue a Bee City designation by the Xerces Society in September 2022.
“The U.S. is home to over 3600 native bee species, and we must protect them because native bees are the most effective pollinators. They evolved along with the native plants and they assist native plant reproduction, support wildlife and pollinate the crops” said Katherine Knopf of the Roanoke Valley Garden Club. “Bee City USA’s goal is to promote healthy, sustainable habitats for bees and other pollinators,” she added.
The goal of joining Bee City USA is to promote, protect, and provide support for our pollinators by providing healthy habitats free of pesticides, using native plants, and encouraging community participation.
“We’re ready to help organizations and individuals plan their own pollinator gardens and support educational opportunities,” added Vickie Bibee of Mill MountaiAll speakers continually stressed the importance of bees. Leigh Anne Weitzenfeld also emphasized their importance adding, “We need bees. They help us every single day, and as a matter of fact, 67% of our agricultural products are food created by our pollinators we need to protect to provide habitat and it’s really easy to incorporate native plant species into our gardens.”
Roanoke City Office of Sustainability provided information on starting and maintaining native plant gardens.
“Bees are essential to our ecosystem as one of the most important pollinators in the world. Unfortunately, bees are facing a number of threats including habitat which is why it’s important for us to do our part to help,” Michael Clark remarked.
At the end of the ceremony, the Bee City USA sign was unveiled.
“I have always taken great pride in recognizing Roanoke as a seven-time All-American City, making it an ‘A’ City in my book but now we are giving it up to the Bees!’ Mayor Lea quipped.
