Welcome back everyone! We hope that all students, teachers and parents had a great break, full of sustainable fun! We thought we would kick off the term of sustainability with a positive article, full of tips to help you save the bees.  

We need bees, as they are the most effective natural pollinators, flying from plant to plant and helping them grow, breed and produce much of the food that we eat. More than 90% of the most commonly grown crops across the Earth are visited by bees. Unfortunately, bees are rapidly losing their habitats due to urban development and intensive farming, and their food sources due to climate change and exposure to pesticides. So what can you do to help save the bees?

There are plenty of things you can do to provide food or shelter for your local bee population.

Tip 1: Support your local beekeepers by buying local honey

When you buy local honey you support the beekeepers in your community, who are likely engaging in highly sustainable and environmentally beekeeping practices. Furthermore, since bees are so great for our environment, by buying honey from local beekeepers you’re supporting the environment as well. You can buy local honey at farmers markets or health food stores. You might also be able to purchase some other bee related goods, such as soap, candles, or even the Sustainability Committee’s favourite: beeswax wraps! 

Tip 2: Plant bee-friendly plants

Different species of native and/or bee friendly plants like daisies, lavender, eucalyptus, acacia, banksia and bursaria provide great sources of pollen and nectar for the bees (and also for butterflies, another natural pollinator). By planting these in your garden you can provide diverse and long-lasting food sources for your local bee population. 

Tip 3: Have some water available in your garden

Now that you have attracted some bees to your garden, they will need clean water to stay healthy. By leaving out a bowl of water with some twigs, leaves or stones for the bees to land on helps them stay hydrated and continue collecting nectar and pollen. Just make sure the water stays relatively clean and most importantly free of chemicals. 

Tip 4: Don’t use pesticides in your garden

Plants absorb the chemicals in pesticides, which often kills the bees when they collect the pollen. Instead of chemical pesticides, you can use bee-friendly alternatives like vinegar, epsom salt, garlic/onion or essential oils. 

Tip 5: Educate yourself and your community

There are lots of misconceptions about bees – that they are angry or scary or out to attack humans. All of this is totally false, and by educating yourself, your children and your friends, you’re able to remove some of the negative connotations associated with bees and hopefully help change public perception surrounding bees and how we benefit from the work they do. 

Bee myth busters

Myth: Eating honey is bad for bees. Actually, bees make 2 – 3 times more honey than they need for food, so buying honey isn’t unsustainable, and by supporting local beekeepers, you’re also funding the housing and feeding of their bees, which in turn stimulates your local bee population.

Myth: All bees sting. Actually, only female bees have stingers, but often they don’t even have venom, meaning they can’t sting. You’re actually more likely to be struck by lightning than be stung by a bee – you have a 6 million to 1 chance of being stung. This is especially true if you leave bees alone and don’t provoke them – they generally only tend to sting to defend their nests, so unless you provoke them, they probably won’t sting you. Honeybees often die after stinging, so they only really do it as a last resort.  

Myth: All bees are black and yellow. Actually, there is incredible diversity in the global bee population. If you look carefully, you’ll be able to find green, blue, purple and gold bees. This is because bees form specific symbiotic relationships with plants, and evolve to best function with their particular species of plant. 

We hope that this article was helpful and informative, and that now you feel equipped to help us save the bees! Education and some kindness towards the local bee population goes a long way, and the bees repay us tenfold in all the food they help produce. 

By Lara Fosbery, Ari Merten and Max Kidman