{"id":4447,"date":"2015-11-13T19:59:26","date_gmt":"2015-11-13T19:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=4447"},"modified":"2015-11-13T19:59:26","modified_gmt":"2015-11-13T19:59:26","slug":"bicycle-seed-bomb-event-launches-for-butterflies-and-bees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=4447","title":{"rendered":"Bicycle Seed-Bomb Event Launches for Butterflies and Bees"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Eric Galatas<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

AUSTIN, Texas<\/strong> – A group of volunteers in Fort Worth is hoping a bike ride can help spark a grassroots movement to save the butterflies, bees and other pollinators that play a critical role in the nation\u2019s food chain.<\/p>\n

Jillian Jordan, the Great Seed Bomb event\u2019s founder, said bees alone contribute more than $15 billion to U.S. crop production. She noted that there were 6 million beehives at work in 1947, but today – after a 123 percent increase in the nation\u2019s population – there are only 2.5 million hives remaining.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re counting on 60 percent less bees than ever before. That\u2019s a troubling fact,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re tired of watching it on the news and just being scared about it. Instead of just watching it happen, we wanted to do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fort

Fort Worth community organizations, volunteers and environmentalists are launching a pilot project to help pollinators essential to the nation\u2019s food supply. Photo: Cmackenz\/iStockphoto<\/p><\/div>\n

This weekend, Jordan and other volunteers will make \u201cseed bombs,\u201d a combination of native plant seeds, fertilizer and a protective shell. Jordan said each bomb can fit in the palm of your hand, making it easy to toss from your bicycle. After it rains, she said, the seeds have everything they need to blossom into plants that pollinators love but that have been missing in developed urban areas.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 14, participants will get on their bikes and cluster-bomb parks, trails and open spaces. Jordan said the wildflowers and milkweed plants – a favorite of the monarch butterfly and its offspring – that take root and grow can provide critical nutrients for migratory insects. Jordan said 90 percent of monarchs already have disappeared, largely because of the use of insecticides such as Roundup. She said she\u2019s hopeful that creating milkweed pit stops along their flight path to Canada will help more butterflies make the trip back.<\/p>\n

\u201cTexas is crucial,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re the first thing that the monarchs see, coming out of Mexico. They start their journey, why not make that first stop a really strong one for them? We\u2019ve got lots of trails, so why don\u2019t we utilize those to provide for the monarch?\u201d<\/p>\n

Great Seed Bomb proceeds will benefit local nonprofit organizations to help keep conservation efforts going. If the group\u2019s first outing is a success, Jordan said, she\u2019ll work to help other seed-bomb events sprout up across the country.
\nMore information is online at greatseedbomb.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Eric Galatas AUSTIN, Texas – A group of volunteers in Fort Worth is hoping a bike ride can help spark a grassroots movement to save the butterflies, bees and other pollinators that play a critical role in the nation\u2019s food chain. Jillian Jordan, the Great Seed Bomb event\u2019s founder, said bees alone contribute more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4449,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447\/revisions\/4449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}