Be Bee Friendly
Bees are in crisis. Figures released by the British Beekeepers Association revealed that bee colonies declined by 14.5 per cent last winter, which is 50 per cent more than the previous year. There are several reasons for this, including poor weather, changes to habitat, diseases and pests, and lack of honey in the hive.
We all know that bees are good for pollination, crop production and biodiversity. In the UK so many of our food crops are pollinated by diff erent types of bees, and we would have a much more restricted diet than we do now if there were no bees. We’d have to say goodbye to beans, potatoes and rapeseed oil, to name just a few. And it isn’t only crops that bees pollinate – much of our green and pleasant land would disappear without bees. No more heaths or bluebell woods, and fewer flowering plants would exist. I have been working at the Eden Project since it opened 15 years ago. In 2006 we introduced beehives to the estate to help with the pollination of our apple orchards.
Looking after our bees is one of the most therapeutic parts of my day. I find that they are calm around me if I am calm around them, so I have no choice but to relax when I am in the apiary.
Research is being carried out to discover whether native honeybees can be bred to be more resilient to pests, but until then observation and good husbandry are the keys to keeping our bees in the best health possible.
Gardeners can play a vital role. Bees need good nectar and pollen forage all year round and we can all take some simple steps to make our gardens more bee friendly. When most people think of a wildlife- or bee-friendly garden they think it is a large plot with an area left wild and scruffy, separated from the neat and tidy garden where we spend most of our time.
If you have space, it’s a great idea to leave an area wild, let some nettles grow, allow the buddleja to flourish and let the wildlife move in. But if your garden is small, or you don’t want to let half of it run wild and free, there are still steps you can take to encourage bees to visit and flourish.
We all know that bees are good for pollination, crop production and biodiversity. In the UK so many of our food crops are pollinated by diff erent types of bees, and we would have a much more restricted diet than we do now if there were no bees. We’d have to say goodbye to beans, potatoes and rapeseed oil, to name just a few. And it isn’t only crops that bees pollinate – much of our green and pleasant land would disappear without bees. No more heaths or bluebell woods, and fewer flowering plants would exist. I have been working at the Eden Project since it opened 15 years ago. In 2006 we introduced beehives to the estate to help with the pollination of our apple orchards.
Looking after our bees is one of the most therapeutic parts of my day. I find that they are calm around me if I am calm around them, so I have no choice but to relax when I am in the apiary.
Research is being carried out to discover whether native honeybees can be bred to be more resilient to pests, but until then observation and good husbandry are the keys to keeping our bees in the best health possible.
Gardeners can play a vital role. Bees need good nectar and pollen forage all year round and we can all take some simple steps to make our gardens more bee friendly. When most people think of a wildlife- or bee-friendly garden they think it is a large plot with an area left wild and scruffy, separated from the neat and tidy garden where we spend most of our time.
If you have space, it’s a great idea to leave an area wild, let some nettles grow, allow the buddleja to flourish and let the wildlife move in. But if your garden is small, or you don’t want to let half of it run wild and free, there are still steps you can take to encourage bees to visit and flourish.