ACT for Bees@ Living Green Festival Sunday 2nd October 2016
September 30, 2016Little bees worked hard for the apple trees.
March 5, 2017We recently visited Beechworth Honey and discovered a wonderful range of educational resources about how vital bees are for food security. 2/3 of Australian agricultural production of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds rely on honeybees for their pollination. After much research, Jodie Goldsworthy has created a ‘Bee Rating’ guide to a broad range of fruit and vegetables which clearly shows how dependent each are on pollination by honeybees. Avocados, apples, carrots, almonds and onions are critically dependent on honeybees and would not exist without them. What? Carrots and onions depend on honeybees!! ..
They would not produce seeds for the next crop without them…’Must have’ coffee has a moderate pollination dependance on honeybees, however the quality and the yield is greatly enhanced by their presence as is capsicum, oranges, chestnuts and tomatoes.
And by the way, if you have an odd bunch of cucumbers happening in your garden, it may mean they haven’t had 7-12 visits from the bees to get properly pollinated! Plant more flowers for the bees in your garden and neighbourhood.
Beechworth Honey have created a menu where each dish is given an overall ‘Bee Rating’ depending on the ingredients and quantities. The Kitchen Garden has wonderful signage with bee stars too.
This
was very exciting for us as it aligned with our ‘Keep The Global Hive Alive’ artistic project showing the diverse range of fruit and vegetables dependent on honeybees for pollination. It paraded the main street of Beechworth and received lots of positive feedback from intrigued onlookers!
was very exciting for us as it aligned with our ‘Keep The Global Hive Alive’ artistic project showing the diverse range of fruit and vegetables dependent on honeybees for pollination. It paraded the main street of Beechworth and received lots of positive feedback from intrigued onlookers!With the beginning of the school year approaching, remember the ‘Love Food? Love Bees!’ yr 5/6 integrated curriculum.We’ve had very positive feedback about Keep The global Hive Alive it’s versatility for a broad range of age groups from yr 1 through to high school students. It is a free online resource. The Australian Curriculum aligned “Love Food? Love Bees!” Year 5 & 6 integrated unit explores the importance of bees and enables students to take real and bee-friendly action in their community.
Each lesson contains hands-on activities, tips, content information, assessment ideas, engaging videos and a range of other tools that support teachers to navigate this unit. There is also a digital library that has a load of fun and entertaining bee information. Have a look at the Cool Australia Toolbox too.
In this sweltering weather, remember to put out a bowl of water with stones in it for the bees to perch on as they need a good supply of water to keep the hive cool. Autumn is a good time for new plantings with pollinators in mind.
Hoping the bees in your region are flourishing after the wonderful rain in so many places.
Wishing you all an inspiring year ahead with time outside in nature enjoying the beauty and peacefulness of special places.
