Abuzz with bees: Mountain Brook named Alabama's first 'Bee City USA'
The city of Mountain Brook is on a mission to save solitary bees this season. Bringing more native plants to attract these bees is their goal right now.
Mountain Brook became the first in Alabama to be a part of . This is an organization that strives to save solitary bees all across the country.
According to Bee City USA, there are more than 3,000 bee species that, through pollination, are responsible for about a third of the food and drink people consume.
Dana Hazen, director of planning, building and sustainability, said bringing more native plants to the area helps with not only supporting solitary bees but food webs as well.
鈥淪o many times, we as humans don鈥檛 realize that what we do in our human lives is eradicating certain species and making their habitats go away. It's just a way to rethink what we are doing," Dana Hazen said.
They're also working with a program called Home Ground USA. This helps homeowners and businesses install native plants in their yards. They say this push will help bring more of them to our state.
The city of Springville follows Mountain Brook in its efforts right now. Hazen said they can see other cities joining this wave soon.