COVER STORY
Tucker Nature Preserve Chooses to Bee in a Big Way L. A. DISON
T
he Friends of Tucker Parks (FOTP) has completed the first step in a long-term plan to establish the city as a haven for pollinators. With the recent installation of bee hives at the Tucker Nature Preserve, the group has partnered with Tucker Parks and Recreation to build a bee habitat that serves both humans and our apian allies. "The parks are such an asset to the City of Tucker, and the Parks and Rec department has done a great job since taking over the parks in 2017,” said Suzanne Borchert, FOTP board member and Bee Habitat program manager. “They have improved our existing parks, added additional park space and added many sports-based recreational opportunities. But there was a need to have more eco-educational elements in our parks. We have the Native Plant and Wildlife Walk at Henderson Park and the Pollinator Garden and Peach Pit at Kelley Cofer Park, so the FOTP thought adding an active apiary, or honey bee colony, and wild flower meadow would be a great addition to our local ecosystem.” FOTP began discussing the idea of a bee habitat in 2018, where visitors could observe and learn about bees and pollinators while enjoying the parks. Honey bee populations in the United States have been in decline over the past few decades, with over fifty percent of honey bee populations dying off in just the last ten years. While some of the decline is due to the rise of colony-destroying mites, the vast majority is because of habitat loss due to climate change
The beehives in place with the bees at the habitat. 4 OUR TOWN DEKALB | June 2022
