World Bee Day!
Thursday, 20 May is World Bee Day!
World Bee Day (WBD) was started in 2017 and the purpose of this special day is to raise awareness of the essential role bees play in keeping both people and the planet healthy. It gives governments, organisations and the general public an opportunity to promote action and activity that will protect bees, improve their population and support the sustainable development of beekeeping.
Bees play such an important role in pollinating native plants in our ecosystem. Australia is home to 2,000 species of native bees! The European Honeybees were introduced to Australia to pollinate food crops.
Pollinators such as bees, affect 35% of global agricultural land, which supports the production of 87 of the leading food crops in the world. Which is a technical way of saying that bees and other pollinators are essential to our survival.
Honeybee populations around the world are declining due to climate change, pesticides and disease. In the 10 years between 2006 and 2016, Australia lost over 100,000 commercial Honeybee hives – that’s more than 20% of honey-producing hives lost in a decade.
So how can you support the preservation of bees?
- Buy Australian-made honey and hive products
- Plant nectar-bearing flowers
- Teach your kids about the importance of bees
- Mow your lawns in the evening, when bees are no longer foraging and there is a lower risk of them getting caught in the mower blades
- Support farmers using sustainable agriculture methods
We even have a donation tin here at Only One Earth with proceeds going to Bee The Cure and we will be donating $1 from every purchase of a pack of beeswax to beethecure.com.au
How will you be supporting World Bee Day on Thursday?