Page 18 - ALG Issue 4 2014 Digital Edition

Bees
Recently the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT) ran a straw poll, asking families attending an event what they thought bumblebees did. Everyone was aware that honey bees gave us honey, but when asked what Bumblebees did nobody understood, knew or recognised that they were keystone pollinators for some of their favourite foods. Most were unaware of the process of pollination.
Earlier this year the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) publicised the results of a poll. Their survey found that almost a third of UK primary pupils think cheese is made from plants and a quarter think fish fingers come from chicken or pigs. And nearly one in 10 secondary pupils think tomatoes grow underground, and potatoes on bushes.
So despite the prevalence of cookery shows on television, more programmes on nature like Springwatch and Countryfile, for some of our children and families, the disconnect between where our food comes from, seems to be growing. (No pun intended).
The economic value of bees as pollinators of commercially grown insect pollinated crops in the UK has been estimated at over £500 million per year. Insect pollination contributes ~€14.2 billion to Europe’s economy, and bumblebees are one of our most important pollinators.
It is often said that bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat. But for some crops, such as tomatoes, no bumblebees no fruit. (Bumblebees use a process called ‘buzz pollination’ to extract pollen from flowers that are tightly packed within it. Only a bumblebee can vibrate at the right frequency to release the pollen).
BBCT was established seven years ago because of serious concerns about the ‘plight of the bumblebee’. In the last 80 years our bumblebee populations have crashed. Two species have become nationally extinct and several others have declined dramatically.
We know that our bumblebees have been declining because of changes in agricultural practices that have largely removed flowers from the landscape, leaving the bumblebees with little to feed upon. It is estimated that we have lost 97% of our wildflower meadows since the second world war. We need to feed our bees so they can continue to feed us! BBCT aims to halt and reverse the decline in the UKs bumblebees and raise awareness and increase understanding about bumblebees and the social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits which they and other pollinators provide.
Plot holders are a vital link in helping our bumblebees to flourish; growing fruit and veg and flowers provides vital food throughout the bumblebee flight season; they need food from March to September.
From bare earth to Bumblebee heaven
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