Bees keep us alive, literally. One third of the food we eat requires pollination. If we didn’t have bees and other pollinators, we wouldn’t have most fruit and seed crops which means humans would have a much harder time surviving. World Bee Day was first celebrated in 2018 to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of bees to our survival and global food security. The date, May 20th, is the birthday of Anton Jansa a pioneer in modern apiculture in Slovenia where the idea of World Bee Day originated. The original video in celebration of World Bee Day shows the bee hives kept on the grounds of the United Nations in New York City.
Unfortunately, humans are killing off pollinators at an alarming rate. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization encourages every individual to make pollinator-friendly choices such as growing flowers to feed the bees and save ourselves. In this podcast, Abram Bicksler discusses the importance of pollinators to ensure world food security. Penn State has a Center for Pollinator Research “that is committed to studying the factors impacting pollinator health and developing and implement creative approaches to pollinator conservation.” One of the fascinating educational resources they link to is Beescape, a way to find out how inviting your local area is for bees. (According to their analysis, my area is pretty good for bees – Yay!) The Center for Pollinator Research also includes best practices and resources to support and expand pollinator populations.
If you still aren’t convinced, the Honeybee Conservancy explains in clear and simple terms why honeybees are the heroes of our planet. And, if you don’t have the space or ability to keep bees or a pollinator garden, they offer suggestions for ten things you can do to help save the bees.