Earn SITES Points by Protecting & Promoting Pollinator Health
By bringing beehives to your property and actively championing pollinator health, you can earn your property points towards a SITES certification.
What is “Green Building”?
Green building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle. There are various programs that offer green building certifications to buildings that qualify.
What is a SITES Certification?
The Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) is owned and administered by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). GBCI provides third-party project certification to the requirements of the SITES v2 Rating System and has developed an accompanying professional credential, the SITES Accredited Professional (SITES AP).
SITES provides a comprehensive framework for designing, developing and managing sustainable and resilient landscapes and other outdoor spaces.
SITES v2 Rating System
The SITES v2 Rating System consists of 18 prerequisites and 48 credits totaling 200 points for measuring project sustainability. Additionally, projects that employ innovative and exemplary performance strategies can receive bonus points. By providing performance measures rather than prescribing practices, SITES supports the unique conditions of each site and encourages project teams to be flexible and creative.
How Does a Pollinator Program Fit Into SITES Certifications?
An encompassing Pollinator Program, such as the one offered by Best Bees, has an outstanding impact on its local environment and communities. Having a strong Pollinator Program is more than simply having beehives – it means taking action to protect and promote pollinators, and sharing the benefits of bees with your community.
Some examples of the above include:
What SITES Points Does a Pollinator Program Afford Your Property?
Beehives |
|
|---|---|
|
HHWB Credit 6.3: Promote Equitable Site Use |
2 points |
|
HHWB Credit 6.4: Support Mental Restoration |
2 points |
|
Education Credit 9.1: Promote Sustainability Awareness and Education |
3 - 4 points |
Pollinator Garden |
|
|
Soil+Veg Prerequisite 4.3: Use Appropriate Plants |
Prerequisite |
|
Soil+Veg Credit 4.6: Conserve and Use Native Plants |
3 - 6 points |
|
Soil+Veg Credit 4.7: Conserve and Restore Native Plant Communities |
4- 6 points |
|
Soil+Veg Credit 4.8: Optimize Biomass |
1 - 6 points |
|
Soil+Veg Credit 4.9: Reduce Urban Heat Island Effects |
4 points |
|
HHWB Credit 6.7: Provide On-Site Food Production |
3 - 4 points |
|
O+M Credit 8.4: Minimize Pesticide and Fertilizer Use |
4 - 5 points |
How a Pollinator Program Qualifies for Each SITES Point
HHWB Credit 6.3: Promote Equitable site use
By hosting Best Bees on-site events and programming for your community, you can promote equitable site use – providing economic and social benefits to your community, available to all.
HHWB Credit 6.4: Mental Restoration
Planting a pollinator garden, paired with beehives, creates the opportunity for your community to enjoy a thriving natural environment. The auditory and visual aspects of bees promote an immersive experience, and the beneficial effects of exposure to nature on human well-being have been well documented.
Education Credit 9.1: Promote Sustainability Awareness and Education
Use your beehives as a starting point for promoting sustainability awareness and education. Best Bees offers outdoor signage, hive tours, events, workshops, and more, which can all be utilized to support education and awareness of environmentally responsible behavior.
Soil+Veg Prerequisite 4.3: Use Appropriate Plants
Improve landscape performance and reduce resource use by planting on your site only plants that are appropriate for site conditions, climate, and design intent.
Soil+Veg Credit 4.6: Conserve and Use Native Plants
Foster habitat for native wildlife, including native pollinators, by conserving or installing plants that are native to the site’s ecoregion.
Soil+Veg Credit 4.7: Conserve and Restore Native Plant Communities
Contribute to local biodiversity and provide habitat for native wildlife by conserving existing native plant communities and installing vegetation that contributes to plant communities native to the ecoregion.
Soil+Veg Credit 4.8: Optimize Biomass
When you support the ecosystem by maintaining or establishing appropriate biomass, which includes pollinator habitat, you can earn between 1 and 6 credits for the Optimize Biomass within Site Design.
Soil+Veg Credit 4.9: Reduce Urban Heat Island Effects
If you pair rooftop beehives with greenery in the form of a rooftop garden, you can minimize the urban heat island effect. Green roofs absorb heat and act as insulators for buildings, reducing energy needed to provide cooling and heating.
HHWB Credit 6.7: Provide On-Site Food Production
Utilize the pollination prowess of your bees to grow fruits and vegetables on your property for your community to enjoy.
- 3 points = 10% of garden is food production
- 4 points = 10% of the garden is food production, and distribute or sell food produced to site users and the community (e.g., farmers’ market, local food sources, restaurants, etc).
O+M Credit 8.4: Minimize Pesticide and Fertilizer Use
Pesticides and fertilizers pose a threat to pollinator health. By minimizing or eliminating synthetic pesticide and fertilizer use, not only are you supporting healthy bees, but also lowering your potential negative ecological and environmental impacts overall.
What Next?
Interested in bringing pollinators to your property to help you attain a SITES certification? Click the button below to connect with a member of our team and learn more about creating your perfect pollinator program with Best Bees.