The Defra-coordinated annual Bees’ Needs Week
got underway today (Monday 13 July) with an online launch to
highlight what everyone can be doing at home to care for
pollinators.
Bees and other pollinators play a crucial role
in food production and agriculture - they contribute the
equivalent of more than £500 million a year to UK agriculture and
food production, by improving crop quality and quantity - and are
also vital to our wider, natural ecosystems.
These spaces are vital homes for our insect
pollinators, of which there are thousands of species in the UK,
including moths and butterflies as well as our beloved honeybees,
bumblebees and many solitary bees. But their populations are
under threat from risks such as habitat loss and fragmentation,
invasive species, pests and disease, climate change and pesticide
use.
Through the National Pollinator strategy, we are
working with farmers, business and conservation organisations to
provide pollinator habitat on farmland, in urban areas and in
gardens.
Bees’ Needs Week 2020 will see Defra and many
other organisations working together to encourage everyone who
can to do simple things at home - like growing more flowers and
cutting grass less often - to help our precious pollinators
thrive, and to engage further with nature through citizen science
initiatives such as the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme’s
(PoMS) insect counts.
Defra Minister for pollinators,
, said:
“This year, we have seen an increased
appreciation for nature in England in response to the Coronavirus
pandemic with the nation building back greener.
Bees’ Needs Week is about celebrating the fact
that everyone can get involved by leaving patches of garden to
grow wild, growing more flowers, cutting grass less, not
disturbing insect nests, and carefully considering how we use
pesticides.
“Our ambitious Environment and Agriculture Bills will enable us
to enhance and protect our precious natural environment and
diverse ecosystems, improving habitats for pollinators, for years
to come.”
Natural England Chair, Tony Juniper,
said:
“Bees maybe small, but they have a huge impact
on how our world works. These wonderful insects are a kind of
natural glue, holding the environment together by moving pollen
between plants, enabling whole systems to be sustained and
replenished. Without bees, we could not live.
“Although overall the status of pollinators
has declined, the good news is that everyone can do something to
help. Many of us have been more connected with Nature during the
pandemic lockdown and I very much hope that this newly-found
reverence for our environment can be harnessed to ensure
pollinators’ habitats, populations and products are protected for
the future.”
Whether you are a farmer, a gardener, or a
land manager, there is something you can do to help support our
valuable insect pollinators.
Here are five simple actions you can take to
help pollinators and make sure their populations are
sustained:
1. Grow more
flowers, shrubs and trees
2. Let your
garden grow wild
3. Cut your
grass less often
4. Don’t disturb
insect nest and hibernation spots
5. Think
carefully about whether to use pesticides
Another way people can help is by monitoring
your local bee and pollinator populations. Spend 10 minutes in
the sun to count insects for the UK’s Pollinator Monitoring
Scheme (PoMS), and get involved on social media using
#beesneeds.
