The City of Delta has been declared a Bee City.
The city announced this week that Bee City Canada designated Delta has the 43rd Canadian city to have the distinction.
Delta is also only one of six B.C. communities named a Bee City.
The designation is awarded to cities that publicly declare they will protect pollinators and their habitats through coordinated and collaborative actions that align with the Bee City program, a Delta news release stated.
By becoming a Bee City, the city has committed to protecting local pollinators by increasing the number of pollinator-friendly flowers in current and future civic garden beds and rain gardens, modernizing municipal mowing practices to benefit pollinators and developing partnerships with interested members of the community.
City staff will also focus on increasing community awareness and empowering businesses and residents to nurture pollinator-friendly habitats on private property.
“Bees and other pollinators have experienced a dramatic decline on a global scale, and we must take action to protect all pollinators. Being named a Bee City is a proud achievement for the City of Delta. I look forward to strengthening our commitment to protecting and conserving Delta's pollinator population for many years to come,” said Mayor George Harvie.
Delta council this summer also endorsed a staff recommendation to submit an application for certification as a Bat Friendly Community to the B.C. Community Bat Program.
Being designated as Bat Friendly would enhance public awareness of the many benefits of supporting bats in Delta, a staff report notes.
The report added one of the goals of Delta's Birds and Biodiversity Conservation Strategy is that “the community understands and values Delta's natural resources.”
More than 3,000 bats are estimated to have taken residence in the historic Burr house at Deas Island Regional Park, making it the largest known bat colony in the Lower Mainland.