Did you know that one out of every three mouthfuls of food depends on bees? Appropriately enough, this year’s World Bee Day on May 20th is celebrating the vital role bees play in global food production. What mighty creatures these insects are, keeping the planet nourished through their industry.
There are nearly 30,000 bee species (that we know about) on Earth, and while honeybees may be the most widespread, making honey is only a small part of the miracle that bees perform. Without bees carrying out pollination of native plants and crop species, says the Wheen Bee Foundation https://www.wheenbeefoundation.org.au/ many ecosystems would be altered or cease to exist.
That’s a terrifying prospect. Yet worryingly, pests, disease, loss of habitat and increased use of agricultural chemicals are all making this prospect more of a reality. And with food security already a global concern, we need to do all we can to protect bees.
Small steps to help fight back include planting a bee-friendly garden (or window box), avoiding pesticides, and buying local honey. Larger steps might be donating to a charity like the Wheen Bee Foundation, which funds research and education programs.
This all strikes very ‘close to home.’ Everything we make at Koala Eco depends on bees, because without pollination and healthy ecosystems, our key ingredients—essential oils from Australian native botanicals, plus the other plant-derived elements we make—simply wouldn’t be available.
So we all have many reasons to thank bees, and many, many reasons to protect them.
