Creating a Nature Preserve for Bees in Colorado
Project Description
We are creating a one-acre Nature Preserve for Bees in the U.S. to protect its native bee species, and we’re inviting you or your company to sponsor it, helping local wildlife and showing your customers your commitment to it. The location of the Preserve will be determined as part of our research
We are Beehive Archipelago, a for-profit startup company that believes that the practices honed in the startup world can be put to good use in helping to save bees in the U.S. from extinction.
The U.S. is home to more than 4,000 species of bees, more than 700 of which may be heading for extinction. (The Center for Biological Diversity.) Bees pollinate crops, wild flowers, trees, and other fauna and are an essential part of our wildlife system.
Our one-acre Nature Preserve will provide native plant-life and shelter for native wild bees in the area in which we can make the most impact. It will also serve as a pilot project, in preparation for our next Nature Preserve for Bees, which is projected to launch in the first quarter of 2020 and which will be at least one hundred acres.
The one-acre Nature Preserve for Bees will be as self-sustaining as possible. In the future, if we are able to find ways for this to this Nature Preserve to further other sustainability efforts then we will do so, as long as we are able to keep the bee population protected in line with our original mission. (This may include fundraisers, educational tours, fruit trees, etc.)
How the Campaign Funds Will Be Spent
Challenges for this project include: 1. Selecting a location for the Nature Preserve. We are seeking a location that balances the following needs. The location should: a. Make an impact on bee populations b. Be accessible for our team to plant appropriate plants and make other appropriate improvements conducive to bee habitat and also to monitor and maintain the Preserve c. Is within our budget d. Can become a Preserve for bees without disrupting nearby wildlife. 2. Selecting the appropriate plants and other items for the preserve that will create a suitable bee habitat. To address these first two challenges, we are consulting with appropriate experts, including entomologists / melittologists (scientists who study the classification, life cycle, distribution, physiology, behavior, ecology and population dynamics of insects/bees). 3. Talking with occupants of locations near to shortlisted locations to guard against potential incompatibility. 4. Maintaining the Nature Preserve after the initial setup To address this, we are doing the following: i. Seeking a location that is accessible to our team, for necessary maintenance. ii. Targeting plants, trees and other habitat features that will be as self-sustaining as possible. Our aim is to create a Preserve that is conducive to native wild bees, one that works with the surrounding environment, and one that will ultimately be self-sustaining and may lend itself in future to further sustainability efforts.