Honey harvested at hives located at government premises is being donated to charities as officials in the United States intensify their efforts to stabilise local ecosystems.
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Pollinator Initiative was launched last year in a bid to gather more scientific information about the regional flora and fauna.
And the programme’s benefits are not solely scientific. Local food banks are provided with the honey that is being produced by the colonies situated in the backyards of post offices and rooftops of courthouses all across the country.
A spokesperson for the GSA – which is an independent agency of the US government in charge of managing the functioning of federal agencies – said its eco initiative “supports the federal government’s commitment to do more to protect pollinators, including honeybees.”
According to the organisation, the domesticated pollinators contribute more than USD 20 billion (EUR 18 billion, GBP 16 billion) to the US economy each year. And the GSA warned they had been “in serious decline” for more than three decades in the United States.
Another ambition of the GSA bee project is to “support the nearly 4,000 species of native bees and other native pollinating invertebrates which are also in decline and in need of help.”
Noah Wilson-Rich is a beekeeping expert and CEO of The Best Bees, a company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Noah – who is in charge of some of the government project apiaries – warned: “Anybody who eats food needs bees.”
GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan claimed that due to its scientific background, the agency’s eco initiative was capable of promoting sustainability and enhancing urban habitats.
Robin said he was optimistic the programme could “uncover new strategies to help promote the health of our local pollinators.”
