World Bee Day 2023 in Canberra

Please join us to celebrate World Bee Day on 20 May 2023!  We’ll be at the Belgian Embassy from 11:00am -3:00pm.
The theme of this year’s celebrations is “Bee engaged in pollinator-friendly agricultural production”. World Bee Day 2023 calls for global action to support pollinator-friendly agricultural production and to support evidence based practices that will support pollinator populations. 
We know that without bees, food security is at risk. Nearly two-thirds of Australia’s agricultural production benefits from bee pollination[1] and globally, 87 of 115 leading food crops depend on pollinators.[2]
The vast majority of pollinator species are wild, including around 2000 species of Australian native bees. [3] While not many native Australian bees are used in extensive agricultural production, wild pollinator species are particularly important for bio-diversity and for ecosystem health.
Some species of Australia’s unique flora can only be pollinated by a particular type of bee and in the absence of pollination, the plant species will disappear.
We depend on plant diversity for ecosystem health which means things such as climate regulation, purification of air and water, soil conservation/building and nutrient recycling.
Around the world, pollinator species are in serious trouble. 
Scientists have identified four “Ps” adversely affecting honey bee populations:

• parasites (such as Varroa);
• poor nutrition (inadequate floral resources);
• pesticides (essentially horticultural chemicals); and
• pathogens (viruses, bacteria and protozoans) that affect bee health[4].

For native bees, it’s suggested that we could add:

• “N” for nesting habitats lost to urban development and industrial farming;
• “I” for invasive species (both bees and plants) and;
• a double “C” for climate change – as earlier spring blooms will leave some bees emerging from their nests and hibernacula too late to find their preferred sources of nectar and pollen.[5]

So, on 20 May 2023, we’ll be celebrating the often unsung, but absolutely essential role these insects play in our world.

Check out the events in your region by visiting the World Bee Day website.

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[1] https://www.worldbeeday.org.au/

[2] https://www.fao.org/world-bee-day/en

[3] https://www.worldbeeday.org.au/

[4] Thor Hanson, Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees”. Icon Books Ltd, Omnibus Resource Centre, London 2019 p 188

[5] Ibid p 196

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE!

ACT for Bees + Other Pollinators is live. We’re very excited to have a beautiful, easy to navigate LEARN, GROW, SHARE with lots of useful resources for teachers, students, Local Government, Sustainability Officers, Land Developers, Landscape Architects, Community Groups, Businesses and Individuals. Enjoy exploring and please share the resources widely! 

EVENTS
Create Your Own Pollinator Friendly Garden with ACT For Bees + Other Pollinators

Wednesday 17th May 6pm – 7pm

Free, online workshop Join Julie and Lynne for a buzzing workshop on Bees, butterflies and more in a free online workshop! This is the 4th workshop in the series this season where we have collaborated with ANU Thrive Kitchen Garden and Canberra City Farm to Plant for Pollinators in their beautiful gardens. Learn ways to attract, maintain and grow your relationship with earth’s pollinators, walking away with the knowledge of plant propagation, pollinators’ preferences and all you need to create your own bountiful garden in no time!

Join us to celebrate World Bee Day at Capital Region Farmers Market

Saturday 20^th May 2023 7am–11.30am. 

We all need to contribute to the survival of our glorious bees, and the very important role they play in our food supply.At the Market, most of our stallholders depend on bees and other pollinating insects to survive. And so together we recognise the importance of World Bee Day to raise awareness of the importance of bees and beekeeping to the world. 
On Saturday 20^th May 2023, we invite you to join us for a family fun day to promote the importance of bees for the supply of our food.
The Market will also be hosting a hive of events on the day including:See our bee display, beekeepers and honey. Make your own bee badge.Colouring in with the kids. Dress up in yellow to celebrate our favourite buzzing friends. We are inviting everyone to come to the Market dressed in your best bee-themed costume and take a photo in front of the Farmers Market Hive Wall. It will BEE a huge day! So swarm to the hive this coming Saturday 20^th May 2023, 7am–11.30am. 
Capital Region Farmers Market at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC)  For more information Capital Region Farmers Market

.beFAIR 2023 World Bee Day @ the Embassy of Belgium

We will be celebrating bees and other pollinators at the .beFAIR at the Embassy of Belgium on World Bee Day! We will have our education stall with lots of ideas and guides for you to plant up your garden for bees and pollinators. We’ll be selling beautiful bees wax candles, jars of delicious honey, our beautiful thermo water bottles with our logo, stunning brass BEE hatpins handcrafted by Ceilidh Dalton a local Canberra jeweller and the last of our Bee Friendly garden T shirts. Of course we will also have our favourite children’s activity. ‘Be a Bee and Pollinate the Apple Tree as well’ which is so popular with children of all ages (including adults!)
There will be food, drinks, live acts, market, kids corner, a giant raffle, an Aboriginal-painted beehive auction and more… All proceeds are going to beekeepers in Ukraine, so let’s raise some funds!!!

PAST EVENTS

We’ve been busy sharing the joy of connection with bees and pollinators with a broad range of groups in our community. Lynne and Julie ran the 3rd Planting for Pollinators workshop at Canberra City Farm with an enthusiastic group of gardeners who were very excited to go home with many pots of plants they had propagated. We’re very grateful to the Canberra Environment Centre for including us in their application to the ACT Government Zero Emissions grant. And a very special thanks to Canberra City Farm for hosting us and the ongoing collaboration. We’re so pleased to see the native plantings we did for the 2nd workshop thriving thanks to John’s care. 

Last week Julie and Matt visited Communities at Work Family Day care community garden in Erindale, to share our ‘Autumn Story for Early Childhood’. It was such fun seeing the children being seeds and growing tall into plants, the bees pollinating the flowers and then the birds swooping around to collect the seeds and insects to feed their young. Linda from Comms at Work has been busy sharing her love for gardening with the children and other educators through her program. It was very inspiring to see how the gardening ripples out into sharing food with the families and of course cooking and enjoying the produce as well as looking out for bees and other beneficial insects! 

Later in the day Julie presented to a very engaging group of Parks and Gardens students at the Canberra Institute of Technology  about planting and caring for pollinators. Interesting questions ranging from reducing use of pesticides, alternatives to herbicides, the difference between European and native bees, varroa and planting for pollinators in urban design. Find more resources on Planting for Pollinators in Urban Design on our website.
Enjoy the Buzz with Easy on the Bees song from the Formidable Vegetables!

Some interesting books and links

A Sting in the Tale: My Adventures with Bumblebees    Dave Goulson

How the Bees gave Earth it’s Splendid Colours.  Dave Goulson explores how bees gave our cosmic home not only its beauty but also its bounty of nourishment, and what responsibility we have — as Jane Goodall once eloquently urged — in repaying that existential gesture. An inspiring read!

Isabella Rossellini’s Kooky Educational Films about Bees

A must to watch! Rossellini has joined forces with Burt’s Bees to produce three equally kooky educational short films about bees, mixing goofy live-action with lovely lo-fi animation.

UNESCO x Guerlain programme Women for Bees in Cambodia (starring Angelique Jolie)

Women for Bees is a state-of-the-art female beekeeping entrepreneurship programme launched by UNESCO and Guerlain. Implemented in UNESCO designated biosphere reserves around the world, the programme promotes women’s empowerment together with biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.

Happy World Bee Day!