Save the bees, help local communities in the process.
Environmental nonprofit The Bee Conservancy (TBC) has opened applications for the 2021 Sponsor-a-Hive program, giving schools, gardens, and other community groups across the U.S. and Canada a chance to help mitigate a major environmental crisis and bolster communities using free native bee homes. This spring, TBC will deliver 500 homes — 200 from last fall’s awardees and 300 for the 2021 awardees — the largest campaign of its kind in the six-year-history of the program.
Sponsor-a-Hive gifts native bee houses, ongoing support, and educational materials to awardees chosen for their commitments to environmental stewardship, education, and food justice. With their guardianships of local bee populations, the awardees also help empower underserved communities to grow food, bolster local ecology, all while protecting keystone species.
The Bee Conservancy’s unprecedented expansion of its flagship program — extending for the first time into Canada — comes at a critical time: Currently, 1 in 4 of North America’s 4000 bee species is at risk of extinction. A staggering report released last month found that 25 percent of wild bees have disappeared across the globe have disappeared in the last 30 years.
Native bees are a particularly important puzzle piece for a healthy ecosystem: Those species are responsible for pollinating 80 percent of flowering plants around the world, according to the United States Geological Survey. Bee pollination yields more than $15 billion in increased crop value each year, the government agency reports.
“To mitigate an environmental crisis of this scale, it takes a hive,” says Guillermo Fernandez, founder and executive director of The Bee Conservancy. “We are all impacted by declines in bee populations and the toll their loss takes on the environment. We are thrilled that Sponsor-a-Hive unites a broad range of populations from schools, nature preserves, food banks, community gardens and more in the fight for pollinator security.”
The 2021 award was made possible thanks in large part to the generosity of program supporter Garnier.
“We are very proud to work with The Bee Conservancy to support the repopulation of bees and help restore biodiversity,” says Adrien KOSKAS, Global Garnier Brand President. “Today Garnier with The Bee Conservancy takes another Green Step towards becoming a fully committed, truly sustainable, transparent brand that delivers Green Beauty for all of us.” Adrien KOSKAS – Global Garnier Brand President
The program also contributes to safeguarding a larger ecosystem. Designed with sustainability, bee health, and user-friendliness in mind, each bee house is constructed with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, sustainably-sourced pine. The houses are manufactured by Brooklyn Woods, an organization that trains unemployed and low-income New Yorkers in woodworking offering some graduates one of the first paying jobs of their careers.
“Sponsor-a-Hive isn’t just about protecting bees,” says Rebecca Louie, TBC’s managing director. “It’s about bringing people together to engage with nature, grow food and community bonds, and build economic opportunities in the green sector.”
The applications will remain open until 11:59 p.m. on April 30.
For more information, visit: https://thebeeconservancy.org/sponsor-a-hive-overview/
Applications can be found at https://thebeeconservancy.smapply.io/prog/sponsor-a-hive_2021
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About The Bee Conservancy: The Bee Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting bees, safeguarding the environment, and securing food justice through education, research, habitat creation, and advocacy. Founded in 2009 as The Honeybee Conservancy and rebranded to reflect its larger mission in 2020, the organization has protected an estimated 10 million bees to date through initiatives such as its flagship program, Sponsor-a-Hive. The Bee Conservancy strives towards a day when all bee populations thrive in protected habitats, and are supported by an engaged global network. For more information, visit: https://thebeeconservancy.org/
About Garnier: Garnier, a L’Oreal USA brand, was developed in 1904 in France by hair care expert Alfred Amour Garnier and is now present in more than 65 countries worldwide. Following the launch of Garnier in the United States in 1999 with Nutrisse hair color, the brand has continued to develop beauty products with a keen awareness of its responsibility to people and the planet. The entire collection of Garnier brands available in the U.S. includes Nutrisse, Fructis hair care and Fructis Style, Olia hair color, Color Sensation hair color, SkinActive, and Whole Blends hair care. For more information, visit www.garnierusa.com or follow us on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Snapchat @GarnierUSA.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For The Bee Conservancy:
Laura Salerno
lsalerno@lsprny.com
For Garnier:
Danielle Macaluso
Danielle.Macaluso@loreal.com
212.984.4799
