Avondale Estates officially joins the Bee City USA network, reinforcing the city’s commitment to creating a healthier habitat for pollinators. As an affiliate, the city pledges to promote sustainable practices, enhance pollinator-friendly landscapes, and raise awareness about the crucial role bees and other pollinators play in local ecosystems. This designation aligns with Avondale Estates’ ongoing environmental initiatives, ensuring a greener, more vibrant community for residents and wildlife alike.
The Board of Mayor and Commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution to designate the city as an affiliate on December 11, 2024. Commissioners expressed support, noting the city's commitment to green practices and emphasizing the importance of codifying such initiatives to achieve broader environmental goals. The measure reflects a shared vision of promoting eco-friendly community standards. The city was officially certified on January 26, 2025, and joins 16 other Bee City USA affiliates in Georgia and 434 Bee City USA Affiliates and Campuses in 47 states across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators.
Bee City USA is an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, with offices across the country. Bee City USA’s mission is to galvanize communities to sustain pollinators by providing them with a healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants and free of insecticides. Pollinators like bumble bees, sweat bees, mason bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, and many others are responsible for the reproduction of almost ninety percent of the world's flowering plant species and one in every three bites of food we consume. Georgia is home to more than 500 native bee species.
“How each city completes the steps to conserve pollinators is up to them,” said Bee City USA Coordinator Laura Rost. “To maintain their affiliation, each affiliate is expected to report on their achievements and celebrate being a Bee City USA affiliate every year.”
Affiliates commit to holding public awareness activities, publicly acknowledging their commitment to the program through a standing committee, signage and web links, and preparing an annual report on habitat enhancement activities.
The Greenspace Advisory Committee is designated as the facilitating committee for the city’s efforts to engage the community in promoting pollinator conservation.
For information about four simple ways to help pollinators, visit the Xerces Society’s Bring Back the Pollinators page.