September is Bee Awareness Month here in NZ. Spring is here, the blossoms are out and we need to do all that we can to help these little pollinators thrive; not only for the delicious honey they produce; but really, for our survival. They are critical to our agricultural industry and actually play a major role in supporting our food chain, ensuring a supply of fresh produce which provides us with many important nutrients in our daily diets.
Maurice Maeterlinck said “If the Bee Disappeared Off the Face of the Earth, Man Would Only Have Four Years Left To Live". Hmm, food for thought isn’t it?
Bee numbers have been declining around the world, and here in NZ they are not only threatened by the effects of the varroa mite, but also by the widespread misuse of chemical pesticides and the lack of flowers & bee friendly plants.
So what can we do to help?
Plant more bee friendly plants around your home (or even apartment) and choosing either to garden organically or use only bee friendly sprays in the early evening when bees have returned to their hives. See the link below for a guide to bee friendly plants; but here’s a few below as well.
Borage, Lavender, Calendula, Basil, Echinacea, Rosemary, Thyme, Rocket, Nasturtium, Forget-Me-Not, Rata, Manuka, Pohutakawa, Hebe, Wisteria, many vegetables & fruit trees, and you can also buy Bee friendly wildflower seeds to scatter as you will.
We recommend using Bee friendly weed sprays in your garden, or you can even look into making your own using readily available ingredients such as vinegar, salt & soap etc… there’s a few natural recipes out there – do let us know if you have any tried and true recipes!
Every little bit helps, and here at My Natural Health we are all planting a couple of bee friendly plants in our gardens, and one of us has just got a few bee hives!!
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