Southern Oregon hopes to attract more than just tourists now that Ashland has held up its end of the deal in becoming the state's second Bee City, USA.
The Ashland Daily Tidings reports City Council members first approved the resolution to make Ashland an official pollinator destination in December, and now with the city's first sign, the tagline is official.
The city will join Talent, Oregon and three North Carolina cities as safe places for pollinators under the program Bee City, USA, which was created by the North Carolina State Beekeeping Association.
According to the movement's website, it started in 2012 when the City Council of Asheville, North Carolina approved measures to protect pollinators and create sustainable habitats for them. Talent was the second city to be designated as a Bee City in August 2014.
The movement toward a more pollinator-friendly city started with the new, seven-acre Ashland Creek Park. For now, the bee-friendly designation will affect all city-owned properties, but advocates hope the effort spreads to private land as well.
“If lots of individuals and communities begin planting native, pesticide-free flowering trees, shrubs and perennials it will create large-scale change for thousands of species of pollinators at risk,” "said Phyllis Stiles, program founder and director, in an interview with the newspaper.
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