The Bee Cause is buzzing back into 2013! Bee Cause is Friends of the Earth’s campaign to save British bees, which are in decline due to factors such as disease, chemicals and habitat loss. The campaign is asking David Cameron for a Bee Action Plan to protect the 267 species of bees and their habitat. It has also been showing what people can do in their local area, such as planting bee-friendly wildflowers or making a bee hotel.
With much success already behind the Bee Cause, such as the removal of pesticides containing neonicotinoid (harmful to bees) from the shelves of major garden centres, Friends of the Earth are determined for 2013 to be the year of the bee!
Birmingham Friends of the Earth kicked-off our Bee Cause campaigning with a successful stall at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ Sustainability Fair. We experienced overwhelming support for the cause, with loads of postcards signed and queues of people wanting to find out more! We’re now planning events for the National Day of Action for the Bee Cause on the 18th May.
As a result of BFoE’s brilliant comedy gig last Autumn, ‘There’s Something Funny in the Honey’, we were able to fund three fantastic bee-friendly projects in Birmingham. One of these projects, a ‘Balsall Heath Is Our Planet’ project to create a Bee Garden in the already established Jubilee Garden, is set for a grand opening on the National Day of Action. The garden has been created by volunteers at Balsall Heath Forum and we are hoping to have a local representative to open the Bee Garden and show further support for the cause!
The day will also include Bee Walks down the Rea Valley, where there are plans for a much larger bee friendly project, as well as viewing the beautiful bee-friendly plants in the Bee Garden. This is set to be a wonderful event and we would love to see as many people as possible there!
The other two projects include a bee-friendly foraging necklace in Highbury Park being set up by Highbury Orchard Community, which will create a bee-friendly corridor across the Park and is kick-starting this Easter. The final project is for bee-friendly climbing wildflower plants outside our very own building, The Warehouse, which we will also be getting ready soon!
We will keep you updated on the progress on these exciting projects in future newsletters, so watch this space. All three projects will have opportunities for volunteers, so if you would like to get involved in this or any of BFoE’s campaigning on the Bee Cause then get in touch with Bex at rebecca@birminghamfoe.org.uk.
