The Green Village News Tagged ‘bees’

Omlet’s Beehaus Could Be The Answer To Declining Bee Populations

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Honey beesBritain’s declining bee numbers have been cause for concern but the new beehive by Omlet could be the answer for boosting bee populations. The beehaus, backed by Natural England, is being dubbed as the urban beehive and has been designed to make it easy to keep bees in a garden or on a rooftop, helping ensure pollination of fruit and vegetables and providing up to 50 jars of honey over the summer.

Recently there have been concerns about the effects of poor weather, varroa mites and even pesticide use having detrimental effects on the bee populations of the UK, effects which are also being felt around the world. Bees are crucial for pollinating food crops and the honey market, and although more people are becoming aware of the downturn in numbers and taking action such as planting wildlife gardens with plants that attract bees such as rosemary and lavender, more still needs to be done to secure their future and the important role they play. The beehaus could be one answer to this, making urban beekeeping an option.

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Something To Buzz About: £10m Government Funding For Bee Research

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

It’s a well known fact that for the last few years, Britain’s bee populations have been in decline. With the national population of bees estimated to be down by 15%, an amount which is still increasing, the British government has pledged £10m of funding to research into the reasons behind the drop in numbers.

Honey bees no longer exist in the wild, and if numbers continue to fall as they have recently, there could be severe consequences for Britain’s food production. Honey bees are responsible for pollinating vast quantities of crops, fruit and vegetables, and without them, there could be a food crisis. Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn commented on the declining population, stating that,

“We don’t fully understand what the cause is. Therefore we need to invest more and all of these institutions, majority government funding, have come together so we can better understand what’s going wrong and try and put it right.”

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Jordans Cereals Have Got ‘The Buzz’ About Bee Conservation

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Jordans cereals have been committed to using conservation grade cereals in their products for over twenty years now, thanks to the initiative of Bill Jordan in 1985. Now they’re bringing the wildlife promoting aspect of their farming practices to the rest of Britain in ‘The Big Buzz’.

The farms that produce the conservation grade crops for Jordans are encouraged to plant wildflower meadows, trees and hedgerows and to install farms to encourage wildlife across the board, but with emphasis on helping bee populations grow. Bees are an extremely important part of food production, not just for the honey they produce, but also for the essential role they play in pollination. (more…)