Nov. 4, 2009 (Update: As of Nov. 6, Häagen-Dazs has doubled the maximum amount it will donate to the UC Davis honey bee research program from $500 to $1000 a day)
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| Honey bee on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
DAVIS—Honey bee research at the University of California, Davis will benefit from a TwitCause social media campaign that begins Thursday, Nov. 5 and ends Wednesday, Nov. 11.
The Häagen-Dazs brand, a market leader in superpremium frozen desserts and the San Francisco-based ExperienceProject.com (EP), an online community for sharing life experiences, are joining forces to help the honey bees on EP’s TwitCause.
“The easiest way for individuals to get involved is to visit www.twitcause.com,” said Erik Darby of EP. “There are directions on top of the page that detail how to follow, retweet, and make an impact around the honey bee cause on Twitter. Starting Thursday, Nov. 5, the designated TwitCause will be the Haagen-Dazs Help the Honey Bee campaign.”
Häagen-Dazs, a division of Oakland’s Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, is pledging to donate $2 for every “#HelpHoneyBees” tweet sent between Nov. 5 and 11, up to a maximum of $1000 per day for research at UC Davis to help stop the collapse of honeybee colonies worldwide.
“It’s an easy thing to do, and they don’t have to buy anything or send a letter to anyone,” said Tonya Iles, interactive manager for Häagen-Dazs.
Honey bees are responsible for the pollination of more than 100 crops, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, providing 80 percent of the country’s pollination services, according to Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty.
The UC Davis bee biology Web site is at http://beebiology.ucdavis.edu/.
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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
