'Bee' thankful for the bees this Thanksgiving

Johnstown, PA (WJAC) — As we near the “buzz” of the holidays, it’s important to remember to be thankful for the little things, more specifically: bees.

Bee-lieve it or not, the tiny insects likely deserve some of the credit for your Thanksgiving meals.

Thanksgiving is a day for family and friends to gather around a big table, fill up on delicious foods and then sit back and relax.

If you’re like me, you probably don’t think about how all of that food got to your table in the first place but maybe we should, after all we have a lot to “bee” thankful for.

A Thanksgiving feast normally consists of a variety of foods, fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses; and while these foods hold a different spot on the food pyramid, they all have one thing in common. Bees!

Certain insects, more specifically bees, are pollinators.

Pollinators are incredibly important to our planet’s all too fragile ecosystem because they fertilize plants which produce a lot of the food we eat, not only on Thanksgiving, but all year round.

Although a bee’s work is vital in order to sustain plant and animal life, according to Emma Horst-Martz, advocate for the PennPIRG education fund, bees and their global contribution often get forgotten.

Without the bees, we wouldn’t have our Thanksgiving mash potatoes, apple pie and even the turkey!

Even though bees go into a dormant state in the wintertime, it’s never too early to start preparing for the spring and summer.

Faran Savtiz, PennEnvironment research and policy center conservation associate says there are several ways humans can assist bees in re-growing their population.

So, as you sit down this Thanksgiving, don’t forget to thank the bees!

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