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Floyd becomes an official Bee City

Just in time for the start of an international, bee-centric conference at the Floyd EcoVillage, Bee City USA announced this week that Floyd County is now a certified affiliate of the pollinator-positive initiative.

The Floyd County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of supporting the effort, which was presented to them on Aug. 11 by Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary Director Alex Tuchman.

Tuchman explained in August that the Bee City USA initiative is a part of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, which aims to "Bring Back the Pollinators" following four "pollinator conservation principles": growing pollinator-friendly flowers, providing nesting sites, avoiding pesticides, and spreading the word. Tuchman said that the mission of Xerces overlaps with that of Spikenard here in Floyd because its mission is "in service of the honeybees."

"It turns out that when you plant a lot of flowers for honeybees, everybody shows up at the table," Tuchman said, referring to other types of native pollinators that are "showing up more and more" at Spikenard and creating a balance with the honeybees. Floyd County alone has between 80 and 100 species of bees.

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This story will be updated with more information.

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