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SOS for honeybees

Why is the WI campaigning on honey bee health?
The decline of honey bees represents a major loss in biodiversity, as honey bees are not only responsible for producing honey, but play a vital role in pollinating plants for food and other crops.
Approximately a third of our human diet is directly dependent on bees, making them central to our existence. In the natural environment, bees are also responsible for pollinating around 90% of the wild plants which produce seeds and fruits on which birds and wild animals depend, thus making them even more central to our world's existence.
Currently, honey bees are coming under threat from pests and diseases for which treatments are not fully understood or are ineffective. Many bee keepers have experienced the complete destruction of their hives from such diseases, whilst the UK is losing its bee population at around 30% a year (up from just 6% in 2003). The UK has 250 species of bees, three of which have already become nationally extinct.
We urgently need to discover what is happening to our honeybee colonies and what we can do to reverse their decline and have a thriving, buzzing countryside once again.
WI action on the campaign
WIs up and down the country took part in our Bee Aware Action Week running from 24th until 30th October. Below is a selection of photos from those events, which give a flavour of the way in which WI members have been raising awareness in their local area.
Background to the issue
In 2009, the Government has attempted to address some of the concerns around bee health by implementing Bee Base, a database of all bee keepers in the UK, and providing the National Bee Unit with more funding for its inspections and advice work. The focus on inspections and beekeeping practices may go some way to helping the decline in bees, however the resolution seeks support for research into bee health specifically.
In April 2009, the Government and its funding partners announced a £10 million fund over 5 years for research into the threat facing all pollinators. While honey bees will benefit, this money does not give them the prominence they deserve in terms of their importance to our food supplies and the ecosystem. The BBKA had previously called for £8 million just for bee research. Sharing this limited funding simply means that much important work may remain unfunded. It is vital that these funds are committed to the work that can make a real difference and meet the challenges facing honey bees.
Professor Francis Ratnieks, Britain's only Professor of Apiculture gave the new Pollinators Initiative no more than a cautious welcome. He said: "There are over 2,000 species of moths and butterflies and 250 species of bee in Britain. So if this becomes a project aimed at funding 2,000 species of insects, I rather fear the honeybee - which is a single species and the most important pollinator - may get a little left out."
The £10 million for all pollinators has been promised but not yet delivered and there is as yet no indication of how much of this money will go to bees and to other pollinators and of what kind of research it will lead to. MPs are still pressing the Government on this issue by holding a parliamentary debate on it a week after the new money was announced.
There is a need for more research on honey bee health and well being, including: diseases, disease resistance, management of hives, and availability of food for honey bees (flowers). The UK does not have a properly integrated programme of research to address this from a British angle, although there are many institutions with a full programme of research proposals awaiting funding at present.
Diseases and lack of flowers for food are probably the biggest issues for investigation. In relation to diseases the issues are to determine the causes behind recent collapses in the bee population, and appropriate methods of controlling these risks, including treatments and management against specific disease-causing organisms (e.g. Varroa mites) and disease resistance in bees. There are also calls for more research into a healthier breed of bee, which actively seeks to maintain a clean and healthy hive and may stave off the development of viruses.
In addition, for the long term survival and health of the honey bee, it is important to know what impact our farming methods have on this valuable species. Much of the proposed research put forward by UK institutions includes work to understand where the honeybee likes to forage and whether our system of planting monoculture crops has an impact on the health of the species as a whole. There are also calls for research into the impact of pesticides and other chemicals used routinely in farming on the honey bee, as there are concerns that honey bees may be poisoned or harmed in some way by these chemicals.
What You Can Do

See the Vanishing of the Bees film

This film - "an eye opening account of the shocking truth behind the declining bee population" - investigates many of the factors which are believed to contribute to the current plight of the UK honeybee.  You can get hold of a copy of the film through the promoters, Dogwoof, who will provide you with a quote for the film depending on the nature of the event at which you wish to show it.  Please email Dogwoof for further information.

Bee-come an Ambassador!

We are urging members to become 'bee ambassadors'. Please let us know if you are interested in becoming an advocate for bees in your community, so that we can keep you updated on campaign developments nationally and on things that you can do locally.
We are planning a Bee Ambassador conference which will take place on 29 March 2010 at Denman College with information and workshops on the issue. Please let the Public Affairs department know if you are interested in attending.

Go along to the National Trust’s A Plant in Time exhibition and join the flower festival with a difference!

Creativity, passion for plants and environmental awareness come together in the National Trust’s exciting new exhibition for 2010. Supported by Yorkshire and Clydesdale Banks, A Plant in Time offers every visitor the chance to make their own unique contribution in the shape of a hand-made flower which will be added to the exhibition as it tours Trust gardens across the country – eventually creating what could be the largest collection of hand-made flowers ever seen. A Plant in Time celebrates the National Trust’s vast collections of garden plants and marks the end of the first phase of an ambitious project to catalogue all the important plants in Trust gardens – the largest survey of its kind ever undertaken in the UK. For more information about the events taking place near you, please visit the National Trust website:http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-events/w-a-plant-in-time.htm

Calling all beekeepers – sign up to BeeBase

Once you have your first hive you can register on the National Bee Unit's (NBU) BeeBase database. The NBU uses this database to help monitor bee populations and levels of disease, and provides advice on identifying pests and diseases. They will also advise on the legal requirements for beekeepers. Registered beekeepers get a free advisory apiary visit from their local bee inspector, who can provide help and advice on all aspects of beekeeping. You can register on the BeeBase website www.nationalbeeunit.com or call 01904 462510.

Take action now

There are a number of ways in which you can immediately get involved in the campaign: 

1.    Raise awareness:

  • Hold a meeting with your WI and/or local community about the threat facing the honey bees
    and what can be done to help. Invite a local member of the BBKA to speak about the issue.
  • Hold a coffee and honey cake morning to attract other members of your community – use the gathering to let people know about the problems facing bees across the UK and how they can help.

2.    Take action:

  • If you have a garden or a window box, fill it with bee-friendly plants and flowers. Plant up a window box with asters and sunflowers, make a bee-haven out of a sunny corner with foxgloves, hollyhocks and larkspur, and choose trees such as willows and limes for bigger gardens. See the full list of bee-friendly plants in the downloads box at the top right hand corner of this page.
  • Get in touch with a local beekeeper and ask them how you can best help protect the honeybee. Beekeepers across the UK need apiary sites; offer your garden, or talk to your local allotment association and see if there is space to house a bee hive. Contact the BBKA if you know about some land which could be a home for bees.

3.    Press for change:

  • Write to your local MP to ask them to raise the plight of the honey bee with the Government.
  • Write to your local authority or parks authority and see if they have thought about planting bee-friendly plants and flowers in public spaces. Encourage them to think about the difference this small act could make to the future of Britain's honey bees.
  • Encourage your local community to plant more flowers to increase bees' food sources. If a local community group is planning to plant up an area of land, why not suggest that they use some bee-friendly flowers and shrubs?
Did you know?
All of these crops rely on honeybees for pollination:
Okra, Kiwifruit, Onion, Celery, Carambola, Beet, Rapeseed, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, Turnip, Mustard, Caraway, Safflower, Chestnut, Watermelon, Tangerine, Tangelo, Coffee, Hazelnut, Cantaloupe, Cucumber, Squash (plant), Quince, Carrot, Buckwheat, Strawberry, Soybean,
Cotton, Sunflower, Walnut, Flax, Lychee, Lupine, Macadamia, Apple, Alfalfa, Cactus, Avocado, Lima bean, Scarlet runner bean, Plum, Cherry, Apricot, Almond, Pear, Boysenberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Redwood Sequoia, Tomato, Eggplant, Clover (not all species), White clover, Alsike clover, Crimson clover, Red clover, Arrowleaf clover, Blueberry, Alfalfa Broad bean, Grape, Elderberry, Black current, Red current, Pomegranate, Guava, Peach, Nectarine, Kidney bean, Haricot bean, Adzuki bean, Mung bean, String bean, Mango, Cardamom, Coconut, and more.

Imagine a world without all of those!

Return to top of page and downloads.

Get involved in the campaign!

Would you like to pledge your support to the campaign? If so, become a supporter.

Would you like to be contacted directly to help with letter writing, petitions or postcard campaigns? If so, become a campaigner.

Would you like to be contacted directly to get involved in campaign actions such as visiting your MP to talk about the issues, taking part in local events such as days of action, or taking part in national events? If so, become an active campaigner.

Please contact us giving your name and telephone number, stating which of the above you would like to sign up to.