World Earth Day: 50 years of bee decline

Laurie Lee wrote his classic novel Cider With Rosie in 1959 and his description of Britain’s idyllic countryside seems so far removed from today’s landscape as to be almost unrecognisable.

As our founder Dale noted a couple of years back, “Britain’s bees play a vital role in our environment and in pollinating the crops that feed us - but for the last 50 years they’ve been in decline. This is mostly due to the impact of industrial-scale farming as well as a general loss of habitat - land for nature.”

With bees coming out of hibernation earlier, we thought the time was right to look again at the issue and what we can do to help.

Let’s think of bees as The Pollinators, stripey–caped superheroes put on earth to pollinate our food crops and wildflowers. Honeybees are the most famous in the swarm, but there are also 24 types of bumble bee and many wasps and hoverflies creating a buzz over Britain. Of all the bees in the supergroup, though, the most powerful Pollinators are our native wild bees and they’re in decline and, in some cases, endangered.

Since 1930, 97% of flower-rich grassland has been eradicated in the UK. Bees don’t need much in order to thrive - they just need the food and shelter that used to be found in our community green spaces, meadows and hedgerows.

It shows the short-sightedness of human progress; in eradicating our wild spaces and endangering insect pollination we’re threatening our very own food supply.

Greenpeace reported, “Without insect pollination, about one third of the crops we eat would have to be pollinated by other means, or they would produce significantly less food. Up to 75% of our crops would suffer some decrease in productivity.”

You know it’s a problem that needs sorting when you’re talking about key fruit and vegetables in our diet, in particular produce like apples, strawberries and tomatoes that we enjoy day in, day out.

1. Make a bee hotel. Your garden is a great place to create a nesting and foraging habitat for bees; food and accommodation in one location – let’s call it a Bee&Bee!. We’ve attached a handy printable guide to help. 

2. Plant more wildflowers in your garden. Bee-friendly varieties include bluebells, foxgloves, comfrey, clovers, knapweed, hellebore, honeysuckle and anemone. You can find more information on the Woodland Trust website.

3. Leave your mower in the shed. If Friends of the Earth says it, it must be true! Being bee-friendly gives you the perfect excuse to get a bit lazy in the garden and allow your lawn to grow wild and long.

4. Likewise, let your weeds grow. Alys Fowler, horticulturist and writer for The Guardian, said: “Some call them weeds, but I call them rambunctious joy, because surely that is what something that chooses to flower whatever the weather, however many times its head is chopped off, despite being trodden on, is called – to be so triumphant despite others’ prejudice.

5. Plant pollinator-friendly flowers. Whether you have a huge garden, a tiny plot or just space for a few pot plants, you can do your bit at attracting bees. Pick plants with a variety of flowering times, from early spring through to winter, and avoid ones with double or multi-petalled flowers; they’re hard for our superhero bees to access and often lack nectar and pollen.

6. Don’t use pesticides at home. You may not have the power to stop the huge producers, but you can put pay to the spray at home.

7. Become a bee-sybody in your local area. Speak to your Council, local schools and other organisations about creating pollinator-friendly places in the neighbourhood and encourage wildlife-friendly farming practices.

8. Support projects to rewild land where you can. Rewilding Britain is a good place to start.

9. Cut your carbon emissions to help climate change. If you’re travelling, how can you make that better for the planet? Can you go by bus or train? If you have to fly, can you offset your emissions? When you’re doing your weekly shop, think about what’s local, and what’s in season.

10. Switch to Ecotricity so you can be sure you’re supporting green energy production. We supply 100% green electricity and carbon neutralised gas. And we use our customers’ bill money to build and maintain clean alternatives to fossil fuels, helping in the fight against climate change.