Fairfax Station/Clifton Residents Create First Bee-Safe Neighborhood in Virginia

Residents of Clifton and Fairfax Station got together recently at a block party to celebrate their new Bee Safe Neighborhood. The owners of 101 contiguous properties totaling over 600 acres have agreed to refrain from using systemic pesticides on their land.

Although all insecticides kill indiscriminately, systemic pesticides such as imidacloprid get incorporated into the plants and poison any bee, butterfly, or other insect that tries to feed on them. Avoiding pesticides in one’s own yard is not enough, because bees do not respect property lines. By banding together, these neighbors have carved out a sanctuary amidst suburbia.

The Clifton/Fairfax Station project is the first official Bee Safe Neighborhood in Virginia. The project was inspired by a grass-roots movement in Colorado to not only raise awareness of the dangers of pesticides but to do something concrete about them. Suburbs can play an essential role in preserving habitat from the vast destruction which is taking place in agricultural settings.

You can find out more from the website http://livingsystemsinst.org/content/bee-safe-neighborhoods.