Bees travel through Norway by bee highway
In 2015,聽, an environmental group based in Oslo, Norway, designed a bee highway鈥攁 route filled with green roofs and flowers鈥攖hat supports bees living in urban environments.聽
One-third of Norway鈥檚 200 wild bee species are endangered. The bee highway works with businesses, schools, organizations, and individuals residing in Oslo to build bee-friendly feeding stations and accommodations. The purpose of the project is to connect the green zones in the urban environment, which include flower beds, plant corridors, and green roofs. People are encouraged to plant nectar-bearing flowers for bees around the city.聽
础听聽was created to let individuals share information on how they want to contribute to the project. The participants, including companies, governmental agencies, and individuals, can write about where they are planting flowers, for example. The website also shows the route in which the bees take to travel in Oslo.
According to ByBi, there are also 鈥済ray areas鈥� where there are no sources of food for the bees. Individuals are encouraged to plant flowers in these areas.聽 聽
鈥淲e are constantly reshaping our environment to meet our needs, forgetting that聽other species also live in it,鈥� said the head of ByBi,聽. 聽
Melvaer also suggests that it is important to return places to the bees where they find food and live. For example, a garden called Abel鈥檚 Garden was initially only covered in grass, and it was later converted into a 鈥渇eeding station鈥� filled with flowers.聽
The bee highway is the first system of its kind designed to provide an environment where bees can travel through a city.聽
In the middle of Oslo鈥檚 business district, an accountant firm is planting Sedum plants and two bee hives on its terrace. The bee hives can accommodate around 45,000 worker bees.聽Marie Skjelbred, an accountant at PwC Norway, spearheaded the project at the firm. Skjelbred convinced her employer to work with the owners of the building to finance the project.
鈥淥ne should see it as a sign that companies are also taking responsibility for preserving biodiversity,鈥� said聽, an amateur beekeeper.
Skjelbred also explains that one bee produces a spoon of honey.聽鈥淚f we did their job, paid at the minimum wage, a pot of honey would cost US$182,000,鈥� said Skjelbred, after calculating the costs.
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, bees are responsible for around聽聽of food production.
海角大神 Steel at the Norwegian Biodiversity Network, an organization working with amateur and professional biologists in Norway, explains that the bee highway project can help protect bees. He also criticizes the short-term solutions of the Norwegian government.
鈥淭he government seems to hide behind these kinds of private initiatives, while pursuing in parallel a policy of promoting intensive agriculture which leads to the death of many bees,鈥� said聽.
Steel also explains that there is a mutual dependence between humans and bees.聽鈥淎griculture is completely dependent on pollinators to maintain food production just as insects are dependent on diverse agriculture to survive,鈥� he said.
This initiative highlights the challenges involving protecting bees around the world.
Agnes Lyche Melvaer, the head of ByBi, explains that she is optimistic. She suggests that there is the 鈥渂utterfly effect.鈥�
鈥淚f we manage to solve a global problem locally, it鈥檚 conceivable that this local solution will work elsewhere, too,鈥� said Agnes Lyche Melvaer.
This article first appeared at .
