As my fellow worker bees and I fly from our nest to forage for food, I can't help but wonder: Will everyone find their way home?
I've already lost countless family members who were poisoned by pesticides that made them forget their way back. I worry that one day I'll forget my way back, too.
As a western bumblebee, I'm not picky about my food. I fly from a cranberry flower to an alfalfa sprout and pause to rest on a raspberry bush -- pollinating as I forage for nectar. I dodge dangerous pesticides as I go, because if I don't, I could meet the same fate as my lost family members.
After a long, careful day of foraging, I head home.
Generations before me, our nest was home to bees as plentiful as flowers in a field. As we lose more and more worker bees, our home has hollowed -- as many as 9 out of 10 of us have disappeared. Today, I avoided joining that statistic. Tomorrow, I might not be so lucky.
Please don't leave us to fend for ourselves.
- Western bumblebee
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Friend,
Unless we ban the worst uses of bee-killing pesticides, our half-inch pollinators don't stand a chance. Western bumblebee populations alone have dropped by 93 percent in the last two decades -- and even they haven't qualified for endangered species status.[1]
Environment Colorado is working to win the protections our bees deserve. As we call on corporations, citizens, Colorado's state government and Congress to do their part, we rely on support from people like you.
As part of our 2021 Fiscal Year-End Drive, we've set a goal of raising $50,000 by June 30 to protect our best pollinators. Can we count on you to help us reach that goal?
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Thank you,
Hannah Collazo
State Director
1. Ami Joi O'Donoghue, "Dramatic Decline Found in Western Bumblebee Populations," US News, July 25, 2020.
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Your donation will be used to support all of our campaigns to protect the environment, from saving the bees and protecting public lands, to standing up for clean water and fighting climate change. None of our work would be possible without supporters like you. Environment Colorado may transfer up to $50 per dues-paying member per year into the Environment Colorado Small Donor Committee.
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