Frequently Asked Questions
Donate
How can I donate to The Bee Conservancy?
The easiest way to donate is through our online donation form. Payments are processed by Fundraise Up which allows you to use a credit/debit card, your bank account, Apple Pay, and more. Individuals and small businesses alike are encouraged to donate through our website.
A monthly donation is a great way to support The Bee Conservancy all year long and is as easy as checking the “Make this donation monthly” box on our online donation form. Automatic monthly donations can only be made online at this time.
If you would like to make a traditional ACH or wire transfer, please contact hello@thebeeconservancy.org
All checks should be made payable to The Bee Conservancy and sent to the following address:
1632 1st Ave #28748
New York, NY 10028
All donations to The Bee Conservancy are tax deductible.
Is The Bee Conservancy a designated 501(c)(3) nonprofit? What is your EIN?
The Bee Conservancy is a project of our fiscal sponsor Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs, Inc., which is a registered 501(c)(3) organization with EIN: 95-4116679. All donations made to The Bee Conservancy are tax deductible.
We are a small business or corporation that wants to partner with The Bee Conservancy.
We are excited to talk to you about potential partnerships with our organization. Please read our Partner With Us page for more information about how we can work together.
Our Mission
What does "The Bee Conservancy" do to help?
The Honeybee Conservancy was founded in 2009 by Guillermo Fernandez in response to the news that honey bees across the globe were in crisis due to a phenomenon that was then called “colony collapse disorder”. In fall of 2020, The Honeybee Conservancy relaunched as The Bee Conservancy to better capture our work protecting all bees and securing environmental and food justice through education, research, habitat creation, and advocacy.
Our initiatives include developing bee habitats through our seven bee sanctuaries in NYC (including Governor’s Island and World Trade Center) and over 500 native bee homes located across the country (see our map here), educating young, future-scientists, building communities of like-minded beekeepers and bee enthusiasts, using community science to leverage data on native bee species in the U.S., and providing further education to beekeepers who can grow into leaders in their communities.
Why are bees important?
Bees are a “keystone species,” essential to healthy ecosystems and to animal and human life. Native bees pollinate 80 percent of flowering plants around the world (US Geological Survey).
There are roughly 4,000 species in North America, and 20,000+ globally (Center for Biological Diversity). Only 8 of those species are honey bees.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, 1 in 4 bee species are at risk of extinction in North America. This is due to factors that include habitat loss, pesticides, pests and disease, and climate change. 1 in 3 bites of food we eat are pollinated by bees, as are countless crops used for animal feed (alfalfa and barley), fiber (cotton and flax), and cooking oils (canola and sunflower).
What can I do to save the bees?
Here are a few easy ways you can help #BeeTheSolution.
- Plant habitat for bees (more info on this below).
- Donate to TBC or VIA our QR Code (at an in-person event).
- Become a Community Scientist by joining our A Bee Or Not A Bee project on iNaturalist!
Looking for more opportunities? Visit our 10 Ways To Save The Bees page to learn even more.
Bees?
Why are bees in decline?
Bees lie at the heart of our survival. They pollinate 1 in 3 bites of food we eat and are essential to the health and prosperity of countless ecosystems. There are roughly 4,000 different bee species in North America alone and over 20,000 worldwide. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, more than half of North America’s 4,000 native bee species are in decline, with 1 in 4 species at risk of extinction.
Here are some of the main factors impacting bee population decline:
Chemical pesticides:
Widespread pesticide use degrades habitat by harming flowering plants and poisoning pollinators. Bees are exposed to pesticides — insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides — through direct contact with spray residue on plants, through contaminated pollen and nectar, or through exposure to contaminated nesting sites or materials.
Climate change:
Research shows that climate change is rapidly shrinking the area where bees are found worldwide due to droughts, wildfires, shifting temperatures, destructive weather patterns, and rising sea levels.
Habitat Loss:
One of the largest threats to bees is a lack of safe habitat where they can build homes and find a variety of nutritious food sources. 70% of the world’s bees live underground, and nearly 30% of them live in holes/cavities in stems, logs, and reeds. Most don’t fly more than a few hundred yards from their nests their entire lives.
How do honey bees and native bees differ?
The world has more than 20,000 species of bees, and only eight of them are honey bees. The familiar agricultural workforce that live in hives is actually the exception in the bee world, not the norm!
Honey bees are considered super-organisms due to their complex social systems and dynamic, tight-knit interactions with one another and their environments. A colony numbers in the tens of thousands of bees, 90 percent of which are female worker bees who maintain the hive and population. Honey bees are not native to the United States. The most common honey bees found in the US are European honey bees, which were brought by European settlers in the 1600’s.
Unlike honey bees, about 90% of native bees live solitary lives. They don’t live in colonies, build hives, make honey or wax, and or form swarms. About 70% of them nest underground, and the remaining 30% nest in cavities or holes in wood or hollow broken stems. Most solitary bees have a short lifespan as flying adults and most of a solitary bee’s life is spent in their nesting site hibernating over the winter.
I have a swarm, can you help?
The Bee Conservancy does not offer swarm retrieval services. If you have insects in your yard that you want to remove, and you think they may be bees, we recommend you reach out to your local beekeeping club or association, or a beekeeper near you.
Can I save the bees by starting a hive?
Thank you for your interest in taking action to support bee populations! All of the world’s 20,000+ species of bees (of which, only 8 are honey bees!) are hindered by lack of forage, lack of habitat, pests and diseases, pesticides, and climate change, so we encourage you to adopt pollinator-friendly practices in one or more of these areas. Maintaining a healthy honey bee hive is a lot of work and requires a significant investment of time, finances, and education (which includes developing a working knowledge about preventing and managing bee diseases, which can impact local bumble bee populations and other insects). The Bee Conservancy recommends that instead of having honey bee hives, one of the most impactful things you can do to save all of our precious pollinators is to plant pollinator-friendly native plants – plus, bee gardens are a joy to be around! For more info about what you can do to save the bees, please read our advice in 10 Ways to Save the Bees.
Events and Volunteer Day Inquiry
Would you like The Bee Conservancy to participate in your community or educational event? Does your corporate or community team want to support bees through a volunteer day? We’d love to hear from you! Click the button to fill out a brief form, and we will be in touch with you soon.
Contact Us
Your Help is Indispensable to Our Work
Bee populations are critical for ensuring a healthy environment. Please give today to build a healthier, more resilient future for all.