SMYRNA, Ga. — At the Smyrna Recycling Center, Julie Barwig believes nature always finds a way.
In this case, with a little help.
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“It was literally bare ground, then we planted everything and they showed up,” Barwig exclaimed. “They’re constantly here.”
The bees. Buzzing around what they call a Pollinator Pocket Garden.
Barwig is the Executive Director of Keep Smyrna Beautiful, the nonprofit and the city are working hand in hand to attract more bees and butterflies.
The nonprofit says excess development—and pesticides—have done too much damage.
“I think a lot of people don’t know the harm spraying causes, which is what we’re trying to spread the word about,” Keep Smyrna Beautiful’s Eloise Holland said.
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That’s why even in a year that mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus have caused several human cases across Georgia and one death, most metro area municipalities do not spray to kill the adults.
But they do use a larvicide to kill baby mosquitoes. Health department officials say the programs have been effective to manage mosquitoes without the collateral damage that spraying can cause to the bees and butterflies.
The effort hasn’t gone unnoticed. Smyrna has been officially named a Bee City by a national conservation group.
“So, if you do like blooms and flowers, you need pollinators,” said Barwig. “You need bees and butterflies to get those flowers into bloom.”
The city has opened two Pollinator Pockets so far. They aim to build seven.
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