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We joined forces with the data centre community in Loudoun, North Virginia, to help reverse the devastating pollinator decline our Planet is facing
Dublin, 25th November 2022: In order to provide more nutrient-dense food for families facing food insecurity in Loudoun County, North Virginia, the JK Community Farm has teamed up with DCs for Bees - a sub initiative of Host in Ireland, 7x24 DC Chapter, and Loudoun County Economic Development for a pollinator friendly difference day on 10th November 2022.
Over 1/3 of our global food supply relies on bees. The goal for the first ever out-of-Europe DCs for Bees Difference day was joining with the local data centre community in support of North Virginia pollinators in the most sustainable way. Translating that to actions and numbers: We set to bring over 100 volunteers and finance and build 25 raised beds. These beds will be used for planting pollinator friendly crops which will help improve the health of the bee population and increase JK Community Farm's food donation yields by over 20,000 pounds annually. Thanks to 20 donors from the data centre community we raised 18k USD - which is almost double of the target we set for the sustainable beds and seeds. More than 140 volunteers raised their shovels during the 4 hours of work and achieved another objective: to have fun and make new friends.
DataCenter Knowledge cited president and founder of Host in Ireland, Garry Connolly: “The bees don't give a bollocks whether you work for Digital Realty or Equinix. But, if you can get a gang of people together from all these data centre companies with a single sense of purpose, which is way bigger than the industry they're in itself, that can make a real impact.”
Big thanks to all supporters and volunteers
Last but not least: Thank you, JK Community Farm, for inspiring us to contribute to your good cause! Thank you 7x24 DC Chapter and Loudoun County Economic Development for being the most helpful co-organisers of this successful event.
DCs For Bees is an award-winning industry initiative led by Host In Ireland to help save the declining bee population. This sub-initiative aims to bring the industry together in a way that has never been done before.
The people of the data centre industry are looking to make a difference. This initiative gives them the opportunity to not only make an individual difference but the tools to educate, advocate, create awareness and take action. Host In Ireland and its data centre industry partners are uniting to make a difference by pledging to deliver on actions to make Ireland more pollinator-friendly and ensure the survival of our pollinators for future generations. Working closely with ecologists from Ireland's National Biodiversity Data Centre, we created the world's first data centre industry-specific Pollinator Plan, a purpose-built programme for our industry to make lasting sustainable changes. From the smallest partner operating nationally to a global multi-billion-dollar operator with multiple sites, there will be steps to promote biodiversity to suit every type of partner.
Host In Ireland Partners 2022
