Bees helped make San Diego one of the country's most biodiverse places. The city plans to return the favor.
Bees pollinate sunflowers at El Mictlan on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, in Tijuana, Baja California. - Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

SAN DIEGO — San Diego may soon have more rooftop green spaces and community gardens as part of a new campaign to boost the shrinking population of local bees, which serve as crucial pollinators needed to sustain agriculture and ecotourism. The city is the largest in the nation to become a Bee City USA, a designation that requires creating new habitats for pollinators, adopting policies that prevent habitat destruction and revising pest management plans to use pesticides only as a last resort. "Bee City USA is not just a designation, it's a commitment to biodiversity, pollinators and reducing h...