Alarm bells are sounding globally over the disappearance of pollinators, but the Dutch capital has proved to be a success story. 

by Linda Givetash / Sep.07.2018 / 3:49 AM ET / Updated 3:54 AM ET NBC News

AMSTERDAM — An unkempt stretch of tall grass, wildflowers and weeds in front of a train station doesn't look like much — but it may be crucial to solving one of the world's biggest environmental puzzles. 

While scientists around the globe have been sounding alarm bells over the decline of bees and pollinators crucial to the growth of crops, the diversity of wild bee and honeybee species in the Dutch capital has increased by 45 percent since 2000. The city of 2.3 million people attributes the success to creating bee-friendly environments like the overgrown, sunburnt patch of shrubs that commuters pass by daily.

The installation of “insect hotels" and a ban on the use of chemical pesticides on public land also appear to have played a role. "Insects are very important because they’re the start of the food chain," said Geert Timmermans, one of eight ecologists working for the city. "When it goes well with the insects, it also goes well with the birds and mammals."

The decline of bees and pollinators has been a growing concern around the planet. A study by the University of Vermont found that the wild bee population in the United States declined by 23 percent from 2008 and 2013. The most worrisome shortfall occurred in key agricultural regions, including California, the Pacific Northwest and the Mississippi River valley, that depend on pollinators.

Amsterdam's municipal government has made significant investments, including creating a $38.5 million sustainability fund,in improving the environment — not only for bees but the entire ecosystem. It also set a goal four years ago to convert half of all public green spaces to native plants — like outside the Sloterdijk train station. “Our strategy is to when we design a park, we use native species but also the species that give a lot of flowering and fruit for (bees),” Timmermans said.

Residents and businesses are provided with information on how to avoid using pesticides with alternative treatments for private land. “(Citizens) acknowledge the importance of the natural environment. It's part of the culture,” he said.

The city also employs what Timmermans calls a “nature-inclusive” ideology in its design plans. Developers are also encouraged to install green roofs on new buildings, which help control the climate within the structure, reducing reliance on heating and cooling systems, and also create a better habitat for wildlife.Subsidies are available through the city for residents and owners looking to retrofit existing roofs or exterior walls.

Zoku, a hotel catering to business travelers and remote workers, designed a rooftop garden and dining area with the idea of bringing the outdoors in for people tied to their laptops. With funding from the city covering 46 percent of the project's cost, it retrofitted the roof of the six-story building to include a diverse range of plant life from moss — typically used on green roofs — to vegetables and endangered shrubs. Hotel guests and the public are welcome to lounge in hammocks or sit indoors by large windows overlooking both the rooftop greenery and city.

“People will stay here hugging a pillow and say I don’t want to leave, I don’t want to go into town,” said Veerle Donders, Zoku's brand and concept manager. “They say it’s really nice to see the sunset and ease their mind from city life.” It’s not only a scenic escape for visitors, but the space is a feeding ground and home for bees that cluster around flower beds or in “insect hotels” — small wooden structures with holes drilled through them to encourage bees and other bugs to nest — that hang on a few exterior walls. Roofs aren’t the only spaces in the city becoming more green.

Residents can also request to have a 16-inch strip of pavement immediately against their home at the ground level removed in order to plant shrubs, flowers or climbing vines, Timmermans said. A city ecologist can even offer consultation on what plants would most likely thrive in their neighborhood. From the street, fist-sized holes can be seen drilled into the exterior walls of some buildings. Timmermans said they serve as nesting space for swifts, bats and other birds.

While these efforts appear to be having a positive effect on wildlife, it’s unclear exactly how much damage urban development had on the bees and pollinators in Amsterdam before records were kept. Timmermans said an initial survey was conducted in 2000 to establish a baseline for future research, and whether a significant loss in bee species occurred before that is unknown. However, a 2015 survey of pollinators found 21 bee species not previously documented in the city.

The dwindling bee population has been noted in the Netherlands since the 1950s. David Kleijn, an ecology professor at Wageningen University, said the biggest factor contributing to the decline of bees globally is loss of habitat. Urbanization and the expansion of agriculture is leaving bees without native plants to consume and space to build hives or burrow.

The Dutch government introduced a pollinator strategy this year to revive bees, butterflies and other insects that are crucial to the cultivation of more than 75 percent of the country’s food crop. Planting one type or even a select variety of flowers or trees isn’t a silver-bullet solution. Kleijn said individual species of bees rely on select species of plants, and studies have shown that the disappearance of certain plants is correlated with the loss of bees. While bee populations are improving in Amsterdam, concern remains high for the more than 300 species across the country. Sixty-six percent of all bee species in the country are on the red list, classifying them as endangered.

Deborah Post founded Honey Highway so she could do her part to help save the bees. Post lives about 40 miles southwest of Amsterdam in a rural community. When the honey bees in her apiary began dying off, she began to research the cause. “Bees and insects have no food because everything is green, everything is grass,” she said of her property surrounded by dairy farms.

Post said the Dutch government identified a decline in beekeeping, the use of pesticides and fertilizers, invasive pests, and a shortage of food and habitat as contributors to the decline of bees. “Three problems of the four problems, I cannot do anything about it. But the fourth, not enough flowers, I can personally sow wildflowers. It’s simple,” she said.

With a new highway being built in the area in 2015, she pitched to government and developers to allow her to sow wildflowers along the sides of the road that would typically be left with only gravel or grass. The experiment was a success. The bees living in 11 hives on her family’s property are thriving, she said, as are the wildflowers despite an unusually hot and dry summer.

Building on the experience, Post expanded Honey Highway, sowing flowers along other major routes and also along dikes and railways. The flowers she uses are all native to Holland and chosen based on what is most likely to thrive in a given area. She’s involved schoolchildren to help with the sowing process so the next generation can also learn about the ecosystem around bees. Long term, Post said she wants to see more routes in the country covered, and hopes she can expand internationally as well.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/bees-are-dying-alarming-rate-amsterdam-may-have-answer-n897856

2019 Update

By Leah Asmelash and Katherine Dillinger, CNN

Updated 12:55 PM ET, Mon July 8, 2019 

(CNN)This past winter in the United States saw the most honeybee colonies lost in more than a decade, according to the nonprofit Bee Informed.

From  October 1 to April 1, an estimated 37.7% of US managed honeybee  colonies -- colonies that are not wild -- were lost. The number is up 7  percentage points from last winter's count and is the highest level  reported since Bee Informed began the survey in 2006. In the survey, beekeepers also said that a 22% loss would be acceptable, but even that number has increased from previous years."This  increased acceptable loss may indicate that beekeepers are more  realistic or pragmatic in their expectations of colony losses," the  survey said. 

Because  surviving the winter months is an indicator of the health of the bee  colony, an increase in winter loss means bee colonies could be weakening  overall. The survey also reported  that the United States lost 40.7% of managed honeybee colonies in the  past year, almost 3 percentage points higher than the average annual  rate of loss reported by beekeepers since 2010.The news comes after a US Department of Agriculture announcement that it will no longer collect data on bee colonies.  The USDA has been collecting data on honeybee numbers and colony losses  since 2015 but will no longer be able to do so after funding cuts from  the federal government. The move,  though temporary, further pushed back a focus on bee conservation  promoted by former President Barack Obama, and it is at least the third  bee-related dataset suspended under President Donald Trump. 

The  increase in bee colony loss during the winter is another sign of  increasing bee deaths and disappearances, leading to what some call a bee crisis and putting food security at risk. Most  plants rely on pollinators, like bees, to reproduce. So if the bees  disappear, it doesn't only affect honey; many crops that humans rely on  could start disappearing, too. The USDA notes that pollinators, most often honeybees, are responsible for 1 in every 3  bites of food we eat. They also increase the nation's crop values each  year by over $15 billion.It's hard  to say why bees are dying, but some probable causes are pesticides,  parasites or climate change. Scientists and nonprofits have taken steps  to understand and mitigate the crisis, including studying honeybees in Africa, where commercialized beekeeping has not been as intrusive.   

HONEY IS INCREDIBLY USEFUL in home

remedies for cold and flu season.

It’s soothing, nutritious, has healing

properties, and, of course, is sweet.

In late fall you can find me preparing our winter

supply of cough syrups, oxymels, fermented garlic,

and other home remedies for cold and flu season. I use

a lot of honey on that day but it’s completely worth it.

When making remedies it’s important to use raw

honey. Raw honey is honey that is not heated or

pasteurized. Heating honey destroys the enzymes and

nutrients which leaves you with nothing more than

just a sweetener. If you don’t keep your own bees,

call your local county extension

office to get the name of a local

beekeeper so you can purchase

raw honey.*

HOME REMEDIES FOR

COLD AND FLU SEASON

One of our favorite ways to soothe

a sore throat and calm a cough is to

take a spoonful of honey and slowly

eat it. It’s quick, convenient, and

it works. But sometimes, we need

more than plain honey.

BY ANGI

SCHNEIDER

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 71

COUGH SYRUP

If you can make tea, you can

make homemade cough syrup.

There are a variety of herbs that can

be used in cough syrup, I usually

use sage or thyme. To make the

cough syrup, simmer two cups of

distilled water with half an ounce

of dried thyme leaves or one ounce

of fresh thyme leaves added to it.

Simmer until it’s reduced by half.

Slice an organic lemon and put it in

a wide mouth pint mason jar – peel,

seeds, and all. Once the liquid is

reduced, strain out the thyme and

pour the liquid into the jar with the

lemon. Fill the remainder of the jar

with honey. Put the lid on and give

it shake. Label and date the jar.

The syrup can be used

immediately but will have more

flavor and healing properties

after a few days once the lemons

have macerated. This can be

stored in the refrigerator for up

to three months or the freezer for

a year. Take a teaspoon of syrup

as needed to calm a cough.

Tap water can be used but the

syrup will not last as long as

when you use distilled water.

OXYMELS

Oxymels aren’t super common

today but they’ve been around

since ancient times. Oxymels are

made by combining honey, apple

cider vinegar, and herbs. Oxymels

usually only have one or two

herbs in them, but a fire cider

recipe has many herbs added.

The idea behind oxymels is

that the honey and apple cider

vinegar will mask the strong

flavors of the herbs and make

them more palatable. Herbs that

do well in an oxymel are strong

herbs that you wouldn’t really

want to drink as tea; such as

sage, thyme, horseradish, garlic,

rosemary, basil, and mullein.

To make an oxymel, fill a quart

size mason with one ounce of dried

herbs, one cup of honey, and two

cups of apple cider vinegar. Put the

lid on and give it a shake. Plastic

lids work best for this recipe as

the acid in the vinegar can cause

metal lids to rust. Label and date

the jar. Let the oxymel sit for two

weeks, occasionally shaking it.

After two weeks, strain the

herbs out. Your oxymel is now

ready to use. An oxymel is shelf

stable as the honey and vinegar are

both preservatives but it can also

be stored in the refrigerator.

My favorite way to use oxymel is

to add a tablespoon to my morning

warm lemon water.

FERMENTED GARLIC

I also like to make a small jar

of fermented garlic every year.

When someone is really sick, I’ll

crush up a clove of garlic and add

the garlic plus some of the honey to

a cup of hot lemon water to sip on.

It also makes a really great spread

for crackers or bread.

To make fermented garlic, peel

two heads of garlic and put them

in a small mason jar. Pour honey

When making remedies it’s important to use

raw honey. Raw honey is honey that is not

heated or pasteurized. Heating honey destroys

the enzymes and nutrients which leaves you

with nothing more than just a sweetener.

*Do not give honey

to children under one year

old because their digestive

system isn’t fully developed.

There is a very rare risk

of honey containing a strain of

botulism that those older than

one can fight off but babies

cannot. Even though

it’s rare, it’s not worth

the risk.

72 || COUNTRYSIDE & SMALL STOCK JOURNAL

over them and put a loose lid on

them. Set them on your counter

for a few days. You should notice

some bubbles and that the honey

is thinner. Be sure to put a saucer

under the jar since the honey

might spill over a bit in the

fermenting process.

After about four days, move the

fermented garlic to the refrigerator

to slow the fermentation process

down. It will be good for about a

year in the refrigerator. Don’t forget

to label and date the jar.

HONEY HEALTH BENEFITS

There are many viewpoints in the

is honey better than sugar debate.

From an environmental viewpoint,

I would emphatically say “Yes,

honey is better than sugar.”

However, from a nutritional

viewpoint, the research suggests

that our bodies handle all forms

of sugar the same way, and

one of those ways is that sugar

lowers our immune response.

There are those who would say

to stay away from all forms of

sugar when you’re sick since you

don’t want anything lowering your

immune response — this would

include fruit. However, I disagree.

During a sickness, I need to

weigh the risk of having our

immune response lowered against

the benefit of getting the herbs into

our bodies. The reality is, without

some form of sweetener, no one in

my family is going to drink thyme

tea, take lemon sage water, or eat

straight garlic cloves. The only

way they will take these things is

if there is something to make

them palatable.

And honey is what we chose

to use unless it’s for a child under

one year old and then we use

maple syrup as the sweetener.

Raw honey also has many

enzymes and nutrients that sugar

just doesn’t have. Of course, you

would have to eat an unhealthy

amount of honey to get full the

full benefits of those nutrients but

when given a choice between using

something that has nutrients and

something completely void of them,

I’ll choose the nutrients every time.

One of the interesting properties

of honey is that it has antibacterial

properties. Honey’s antibacterial

properties are well documented and

honey has been used topically for

centuries. All raw, unpasteurized

honey has antibacterial properties

and is often used topically to treat

wounds in people and in animals.

Of course, colds and the flu

aren’t caused by bacteria but by

viruses, however, there are many

secondary bacterial infections that

can happen from being congested

and run down. I believe choosing

honey over other sweeteners gives

our bodies just a bit of extra help

on warding off those secondary

infections.

This year, try using honey for

cold and flu season in a new way.

Maybe that means you need to

find a local beekeeper to get raw

honey. Maybe you’ll keep a jar

in the back of the pantry to take

by the spoonful to soothe a sore

throat instead of using a storebought

cough syrup. And maybe,

that means you’ll try one of the

quick remedies our family keeps

on hand.