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Employee planting trees at Earth Day event

Earth Month

Like food and drinks? You should love bees.

As a global leader in the hospitality and entertainment industry, the team at Delaware North is a big fan of food and drinks. In celebration of Earth Month and World Bee Day, we’re partnering with The Bee Cause Project – because too many don’t realize the enormously significant role that pollinators like bees play in our environment. 

Some people don’t like bees. Others are afraid of them. But honeybees are actually quite gentle. They just want to do their thing — helping to pollinate plants of all types. Thanks to bees, we can have an apple a day (or two), along with blueberries, oranges, almonds, strawberries, coffee, chocolate and more – not to mention blue Weber agave, the main ingredient in tequila. 

So, it’s pretty easy to understand how much of our food chain depends on these yellow-and-black insects. Very quietly — beyond the buzzing — they give us the food supply that sustains modern life. That’s why bees are worth protecting and learning more about.

The question is: how well do you know honeybees? When you visit one of more than 130 Delaware North locations this month, you can order a pollinator-themed cocktail and take a cool and interactive augmented reality quiz to find out.

Bee a Friend to Pollinators

Our friends at The Bee Cause Project shared some ways you can support pollinators: 

  • Bees need water: Bees need water to heat and cool their hive. You can help the bees by putting out a shallow dish with fresh water and pebbles for bees to land on. Bees can’t swim so be sure to place a few stones or pebbles in your water source to help bees and other pollinators climb out. So, add fresh water daily.
    • Did you know? Honeybees carry water in their ‘honey sac,’ an extra-long part of their esophagus. 
    • Did you know? Native bees drink water but also need it for mud which they use to make nests.
  • Bees need food: Bees and other pollinators eat nectar and pollen, which comes from flowers. Nectar is a sugary, energy-boosting food source and is what honeybees use to make honey.
    • Grow a pollinator garden with loads of flowers. Many pollinators visit the same type of flower when they forage for food. Plant flowers in groups rather than separately. This helps pollinators save their energy by putting all the food they need in one “bee buffet.” 
  • Bees need habitats: Pollinators need safe places to rest and raise their young. Honeybees live together in beehives while native bees, butterflies and beetles live alone. Humans help keep beehives clean and healthy and in return, harvest delicious honey. Dead plant stems, leaves, twigs, mulch and even a pile of sticks can become shelter in a storm.
    • Investigate how to build a pollinator house or bee hotel to add shelter to your landscape. Check out The Bee Cause Project for more information. 
    • Create a No Mow Area to allow an area of your yard to grow naturally, especially during the dandelion and clover season. 

About The Bee Cause Project 

The Bee Cause Project inspires the next generation of environmental stewards while protecting our planet’s precious pollinators. The Bee Cause offers a variety of grants to schools and non-profit organizations across North America, Canada, and beyond. Through Honeybee Grants, Pollinator Literacy Grants, and Pollinator Habitat Grants, The Bee Cause strengthens the connection their participants share with pollinators and enables curious minds to thrive. All grants include equipment and resources, providing a STEAM-based curriculum that brings the natural world into the classroom. Interested in learning more? Click here to learn more about our friends at The Bee Cause Project and their mission to protect pollinators.

About PATRÓN Tequila 

At PATRÓN, sustainability is a key fundamental principle and a way they have always strived to bring the brand forward with the world. The following are examples of PATRÓN Tequila’s recent sustainability measures:

  • PATRÓN developed a state-of-the-art water treatment system to reclaim clean water from its tequila production. That water is then reused in cooling towers and for cleaning. 
  • PATRÓN installed a natural gas pipeline as a main energy source, which helps reduce CO2 emissions. 
  • PATRÓN reforested and donated approximately 16,000 trees in the local community of Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco. 
  • The PATRÓN compost center creates about 5,500 tons of fertilizer compost a year from leftover agave fibers. 
  • PATRÓN takes in used agave fibers from neighboring distilleries and turns their agave fibers into fertilizer for them to use. 
  • PATRÓN not only has a commitment to crafting the world’s finest tequila, but it’s just as dedicated to taking care of the resources and people that make it possible. The PATRÓN Jimadors only harvest mature agave to allow the natural reproduction cycle of the plant to occur, helping prevent over planting and playing an important role in preserving the local ecosystem.

Interested in learning more? Click here to learn more about PATRÓN Tequila’s social and environmental responsibility.