World Bee Day 2021

In 2017 the United Nations declared that the 20^th May would be World Bee Day. The date was chosen because beekeeping pioneer Anton Jansa was born on the 20^th May 1734, a fitting person to be remembered on World Bee Day as he wrote books and lectures on the importance of bees throughout his life:

"Bees are a type of fly, hardworking, created by God to provide man with all needed honey and wax. Among all God's beings there are none so hard working and useful to man with so little attention needed for its keep as the bee."

It can be easy to disregard the crisis among the bees population, and to not think about the impact this crisis might have on the rest of nature. But without bees and pollinators the world around us will be very different. 75% of the world’s food crop depend on pollinators to do their job, without them, livelihoods will be lost, world hunger will increase and habitats for wildlife will be destroyed.

The purpose of World Bee Day is to raise awareness of the importance of bees and other pollinators, the population of which are in a steep decline due to climate change, intensive agriculture, monocultures and pesticides.

This year the FAO has announced that the theme is “Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees”. A virtual event will be held, in which there will be discussions about how to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic with the threat to bees in mind. See the full webinar agenda here.

What can you do?

Here are just a few easy things that you can do to support World Bee Day:

• Register and attend the virtual event at 13:00 20th May 2021 here
• Spread the word!
• Educate others of the importance of bees
• Donate, fund-raise or volunteer for bee conservation charities such as The British Beekeepers Association, Bee Friendly Trust or Bumblebee Conservation Trust and many more!
• Plant flowering plants
• Mow your lawn less frequently (see our No Mow May blog)
• Avoid insecticides

If you would like to create a bee-friendly garden then why not provide shelters for pollinators like the Driftwood Insect / Bee Hotel which you can find on our website!