Dear Mayor [Last Name]:
As your constituent, I am deeply concerned about an issue impacting every member of our community, as well as every individual on this continent: our food supply. Nearly one-third of the agricultural crops in North America rely on insect pollination. Bees, the most effective pollinators, are vanishing at an alarming rate, due to the overuse of toxic chemicals which threaten their health and habitat. Now more than ever, bees need our help. Their future — and ours — is at stake.
I would like you to issue a proclamation urging our community and its citizens to make a difference for bees. Doing so would bring much-needed awareness to this critical issue that affects us all. At the end of this email, please find a suggested “Save the Bees” proclamation, for your consideration.
As you know, effective proclamations are best tied to relevant local events or national days. Here are a few dates which celebrate sustainability, wildlife and the environment, plus links for more information:
Thank you, Mayor, for your attention and efforts. Advocacy for bees will be a shining achievement in your considerable legacy of public service.
Respectfully,
[Your name]
Suggested “Save the Bees” Proclamation:
WHEREAS, North America is blessed with diverse wildlife and abundant natural resources, including more than 4,000 native bee species, honeybees that are essential to our nation’s agriculture and many other insect pollinators.
WHEREAS, Bees are our most important and efficient pollinators which are essential to the food supply for people and for wildlife.
WHEREAS, One-third of all the food we eat is the direct result of animal pollinators and wildlife also rely on the natural food chains that cannot function without pollination.
WHEREAS, Insect pollinators are themselves important food sources for other wildlife including the countless birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians that eat the protein-and-fat-rich eggs, larvae, or adult forms of insect pollinators, or feed them to their young.
WHEREAS, One-third of our nation’s wildlife species are at risk of extinction in coming decades, including bees and pollinators like the rusty-patched bumblebee that recently became the first bee species in the continental U.S. to be added to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list.
WHEREAS, cities, towns and counties play a critical role in helping save bees and pollinators by creating pollinator habitat at parks, municipal buildings, roadsides and throughout the community where our citizens live, work, learn, play and worship.
WHEREAS, I encourage other city officials across our great nation to take a stand with me so that our nation’s bees and wildlife will once again flourish across the continent.
Now, therefore, I, [MAYOR NAME] of the [CITY NAME], do hereby proclaim [DATE] as: “SAVE THE BEES DAY” in [CITY NAME].