BEE EMPHASIS BRINGS AWARD

Sebastopol farmer Paul Kaiser has received an international award for providing safe habitat to bees and other animals that pollinate flowering plants.

Kaiser, owner of Singing Frogs Farms, is the 2010 recipient of the Farmer Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award, sponsored by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and the National Association of Conservation Districts.

The award was given as part of an effort to promote public awareness about birds, bees, bats, butterflies, beetles and other pollinators. The animals enable the reproduction of more than 75 percent of flowering plants, accounting for as much as one-third of the nation's food supply. Singing Frogs Farm is a certified Bee Friendly Farming operation. It provides adequate habitat for bees and other pollinators, and it uses bee-beneficial farming practices.

Kaiser was commended for giving farm tours and open houses that help spread the word about the role that pollinators play in agriculture and the actions that are necessary to protect and support them.

-- Staff and wire reports