Hello Hello to all the bees in the Hive, both Silvers and young ones alike!
Yes today is World Bee Day 2022
Challenged accepted 
Each Hive community member has been challenged to write a post about the problems that bees are facing and how we can help. We are to tag our posts with #WorldBeeDay2022 š
Well, I have just checked the tag and I have seen the grand total of 14 posts in support of the bees, perhaps the bees of Hive are too busy trying to become Lions in Leoš¤£ well you will need that money when bees are extinct and food rockets in price!
Joking aside, what is World Bee Day 2022?
That was a link to a fantastic page on the UN website specifically for World Bee Day 2022. This day is to highlight to the general public the importance of bees to ecosystems and to our very future on this planet!
Who suggested World Bee Day?
The UN Member States approved Sloveniaās proposal to proclaim 20 May as World Bee Day in December 2017.
Why celebrate it on May 20th?
On May 20th 1734, Anton JanŔa who is regarded as the pioneer of beekeeping was born in 1734 in Breznica, Carniola (which is now in Slovenia), hence Slovenia's proposal!
Why Are Bees Important?
Bees are vital to pollinate the food that we need to eat and survive. In addition to this bees pollinate many of the trees and flowers which provide habitats for a lot of wildlife.
The decline of bees will drastically cute pollination and as a result what grows.
As an example without bees it has been estimated that it would cost farmers in the UK an incredible Ā£1.8 billion per year to manually pollinate their crops (source)
That is a pretty mind blowing figure huh?
About 84% of crops for human consumption depend on pollinators.
Just let that sink in!
How Are Bees Being Threatened?
Native bees are being threatened by:
- unprecedented habitat loss
- pesticide threats
- introduced diseases.
How can You Help? This is the advice given by the UN here
- planting a diverse set of native plants, which flower at different times of the year;
- buying raw honey from local farmers;
- buying products from sustainable agricultural practices;
avoiding pesticides, fungicides or herbicides in our gardens; - protecting wild bee colonies when possible;
- sponsoring a hive;
- making a bee water fountain by leaving a water bowl outside;
- helping sustaining forest ecosystems;
- raising awareness around us by sharing this information within our communities and networks!
How did I Help today?
- We are lucky and have an outdoor Friday Market with local produce and I was able to buy a couple of jars of raw honey,
- I now have a water bowl at the back of my flat in my little garden area,
- I have been tweeting about World Bee Day 2022 and will be sharing this and the UN webpage link on my social sites.
Why not do your bit, and spread the awareness of the plight of the bee!
Thank you for reading and I will leave you with one last shot of a bee that happily posed working for me. Please note that ALL pictures are taken by me.
This is our planet and it is OUR responsibility to look after it for future generations!
Let's all do our bit to save the bees and save the planet!