Norway Builds World's First Bee Superhighway
In an attempt to help out dwindling bee populations, the city of Oslo has installed a new "bee highway" through the city so bees can travel safely.
According to The Local, Oslo has put clusters of bee-friendly plants every 250 meters along a path through the city, which will work as rest stops for the bees as they fly around. Bees have been dying off in large numbers in recent years, and the dwindling bee numbers are very bad news for agriculture, which depends on the insects for pollination. Bees have a difficult time in cities, where there are not a lot of nectar-rich plants around for them to eat. Oslo's plan is to help counter that with the bee-feeding stations.
"The idea is to create a route through the city with enough feeding stations for the bumblebees all the way," said Tonje Waaktaar Gamst of the Oslo Garden Society. "Enough food will also help the bumblebees withstand man-made environmental stress better."
There is also a new app out that maps all the bee-friendly plants in the city. Locals can help out by planting flowers on their properties if they live in an area where there is less food for bees, or they can even just place flower pots in their areas so the bees have a place to stop and refuel.