A chemical producer, Syngenta, has created a program called Operation Pollinator. This program is trying to help the increase bee populations. Bee colonies have been declining for many years now for many unknown reasons, this decline as bee colony collapse or BCC. The pollinator program is encouraging golf courses, farms and home owners to plant wild flowers in outer areas to help increase the colonies.
Bees are one of the most important insects on earth because they pollenate most of the food we eat. If these colonies decline too much it will cause a decline in crop production. This will have major impacts on local economies.
On the course we will be picking some of our outer areas to allow for wildflowers to grow. Some areas are already doing this. On the left of number 5 fairway we have left the grass grow. What we noticed is that there are white flowers growing up through the grasses. These have already started helping bees in the area.
We have an active honey bee colony on number 6 in a tree. This is the second large colony that we have had in that area. A few years ago a tree split and I had a local apiary come and save the colony. He told me that they are an extremely docile hive because none of the bees attacked when he was harvesting them. The hive on 6 will stay in place until the tree falls. So please if you are scared or allergic to bees please stay away of the tree on 6 that has the signs around it.
This is a link to the operation pollinator web site.
http://www.operationpollinator.com
This is a link to all the food that need bees to pollinate them.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated_by_bees