In Harmony is calling on our natural lawn care clients to join us in helping to save our native bees. We are calling this new program Bee Friendly Lawn.

More than half the native bee species in North America are in decline. One in four species is at risk of extinction. Likely causes include habitat loss, heavy pesticide use, climate change and urbanization.

The decline is bee populations is a big deal because bees play a number of important roles. Here are the top five reasons that bees are important, according to Friends of the Earth. Bees:

• Help produce 1/3 of our food supply
• Help provide ½ of the world’s fibers, oils, and other raw materials
• Help create many medicines
• Provide food for wildlife
• Help prevent soil erosion

A healthy lawn is a Bee Friendly Lawn 

Your lawn care practices can help—or harm—our native bees. Bottom line to help save bees: keep your lawn healthy. A healthy, robust lawn is less likely to have problems with weeds, moss, disease and insects.

Focus on preventing problems now instead of using toxic products later. Proper lawn care will allow you to greatly reduce and perhaps eliminate the use of products such as weed and moss killer.

We will not use weed and moss killer on lawns that are not maintained properly. IPM (integrated pest management) guidelines say that pesticides should not be used without proper watering and mowing practices.

Here is an infographic that outlines key lawn care actions to support bee populations. We will provide more details on Bee Friendly Lawn Care practices over the course of the growing season.