BEE POSITIVE

Bees & the important role they play in nature

According to government data, there are 730,000 hectares (1.8m acres) of private garden in the UK – nearly twice the size of Somerset. And in cities, nearly 30% of domestic space is taken up by gardens. Eating less meat, flying less and creating wildlife-friendly green spaces are all ways people are being encouraged do their bit to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises.

It’s easy to feel powerless over certain things, but the planet being in environmental crisis really is something we all need to get involved with. A new report involving the UK’s statutory nature agencies has stressed we must turn “nature positive” by 2030, to reverse the declines in wildlife.

What does ‘nature positive’ mean?

NatureScot chief executive Francesca Osowska says: “It is everyone’s responsibility to be nature positive”

“We know the twin crises of climate change and nature loss are inextricably linked – we do both, or do neither.”

Rather than simply aiming to become ‘net zero’ – a promise many global leaders previously made – the world must aim to go much further and halt and reverse nature loss instead.

Yes, the old mantra of trying to tread lightly, do less harm and reduce our impact still stands, but simply trying not to contribute to biodiversity loss and climate change isn’t enough anymore.

This way of thinking asks that we go beyond damage limitation and instead ensure our lives – from government policy and business decisions down to individual action – enhance the planet and its ecosystems. Being nature-positive means actively fighting back to save species and bring back lost biodiversity.

So what can you do?  Make sure your garden is bee-friendly

Bees are experiencing unprecedented decline and gardens provide essential habitats for bees across the UK, so ensure you are maximising the pollinator potential of your space. Fill your garden with flowering plants that are rich in pollen and nectar, and include plants with a wide range of shapes and colours to attract as many bee species as possible to your garden. Also, ditch the weed killer and let wildflowers grow – rewilding is all the rage right now anyway.

Bees are incredible insects. They existed before the dinosaurs and evolved at about the same time as flowers to pollinate them thousands of years ago. Only now have we worked out how to wipe them out. Bees are under threat all around the world, with massive winter bee die-offs reported from almost every place and insecticide bans enforced in many countries to try to stem the losses.

Many people don't realise the vital role bees and other insects play in pollinating our food. When bees forage for nectar and pollen they pollinate each flower they visit, increasing the crop yield by as much as 60%. Without bees, many food crops that need pollination by insects couldn't be grown on a scale large enough to feed us. In some parts of the world, plants have to be hand-pollinated, a very labour-intensive and expensive process where a human touches each flower with a feather.

A few years on, the message is getting out and people are starting to listen. You too can help by telling everybody you know about bees and how we need them to pollinate our plants for food and other crops.

There is a #betteralternative

Actiferm will help with the biodiversity in your garden. These beneficial microbes also ferment organic matter to retain nutrients and make them available within the soil. The microbes also produce bio-active substances, like enzymes, vitamins, antimicrobials and phytonutrients which favour the development of plants and help prevent diseases.

If you are lucky to have beehives we have now launched BeeWellness® which is a special bee product based on EM (Effective Microorganisms) and contains no chemical components.

BeeWellness promotes the microclimate in the hive and keeps the bees healthy. It supports resistance to varroa mites, accelerates the breakdown of pesticides, has a positive effect on the vitality of the bee population and increases resistance. By treating the hive with BeeWellness, you can add beneficial micro-organisms.