Mount Vernon needs leader to help bees thrive

MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon City Councilman Tanner Salyers wants to find that resident who wants to help the bees and other pollinators survive and thrive by agreeing to lead the Bee City Committee.

Last year, City Council approved the committee’s creation within the Shade Tree and Beautification Commission. That resolution included approval to make an application to the Xerces Society for the city to be a part of Bee City USA. This program is similar to Tree City USA but focuses on policies that support pollinators.

“With the county seat of Knox County, it’s incredibly important for us to be pollinator-positive,” Salyers said. “If you feel like eating, thank a bee, thank a pollinator.”

Kenyon College in Gambier is a Bee City Campus. Salyers hopes Mount Vernon Nazarene University can also earn that recognition.

Mount Vernon needs to utilize the area that it has to preserve and make the most of the land in the city for the sake of these pollinators, he said. The Bee City Committee will help draft policies that aid such efforts. Those policies may include garden habitats and making sure the herbicides and pesticides used within the city are targeted or limited at best. 

The Bee City Committee will be tasked with helping to make sure “that ordinances within the city regarding beekeeping are the most pollinator-friendly,” Salyers said.

He believes the extensive park system in Mount Vernon can benefit from gaining Bee City USA status through the practices it requires. These will help not just the planet but local agriculture and even local artists.

“We have some artists locally that produce art using beeswax,” he said.

Salyers noted that some miscommunication happened with the city’s original resolution. The Bee City Committee will work with the Shade Tree Commission to create the application to gain the Bee City USA designation.

“Right now, we need somebody who is willing to lead that on the committee and work with the Shade Tree Commission,” he said. “I have a feeling that once we get a passionate leader, some folks that want to be supportive members who don’t necessarily want the full brunt of the responsibility, they will quickly follow.”

Anyone interested in joining the Bee City Committee can contact Salyers at his City email address, tsalyers@mountvernonohio.org, or call him at 740-357-9205. He plans to put them in touch with the Shade Tree Commission.