Page 133 - Guerin Media Ltd | Active Retirement Ireland Members Annual 2016
P. 133
BEE KEEPING SKILLS & HERITAGE
Bee Aware
“Unfortunately, Irish pollinators are in decline, with one third of our 98 bee species threatened with extinction,”
Dr. Úna FitzPatrick from the National Biodiversity Data Centre
Ireland is one of the first countries in Europe with FACTS:
a strategy to address pollinator decline and protect 99One
pollination services – the work of the humble Bee. with ethxitrindcotifoonuirn9I8rebleaendspecies are threatened
WHY ARE BEES IN TROUBLE?
Our bee population is declining because we’ve 99ifTnohotehdeacnRrnoeuppasulhbvalaiscluboeefeoInrfepelasotnlildmin. aatteodrsafto€r5h3ummiallnion
drastically reduced theareas where they can nest
and the amount of food our landscape provides for 99pDoelclilninaetosrisntwo isltdafrlvoawtieorns .are subjecting our
them. We’ve also inadvertently introduced pests and
diseases that negatively impact their health, and to 9rg9rteOoahsraoauddnuresrtnaicedlsenleosidsswf,eopfinirnlecagblyydeiwtnemoisgl.dtaairfdlgboyiinwgusepp,raastrnhttdeoinliganrnroepdwdasurcakaclspionenagngrtdahtheseer
make matters worse we subject them to levels of
pesticides that make it difficult for them to complete Five things you can do to
their life cycles! We are asking them to perform their HELP IN YOUR GARDEN
free services( pollinating all the fruit and vegetables
that we enjoy so much) in an increasing inhospitable 1. Make sure you have at least one flowering
environment.
If you’re a bee, finding enough food is the biggest food source from spring right though to
challenge you face. Because fewer wildflowers are winter
being allowed to grow we are subjecting our 2. Leave small areas of your lawn uncut to allow
pollinators to starvation. Fertiliser application has clovers to flower
resulted in increased crop yields, but also in severe 3. Don’t view dandelions as a weed but as a vital
declines in wildflowers in managed fields and spring food source for hungry bees
adjacent habitats. Our tendency to tidy up the 4. Avoid using pesticides
landscape rather than allowing wildflowers to grow 5. Try to avoid disturbing nesting or hibernating
along roadsides, field margins, and in parks and bees in area like long grass, bare soil, dead
gardens is playing a big part in reducing these wood or walls.
resources for bees.
www.activeirl.ie Active Retirement Ireland 133
Bee Aware
“Unfortunately, Irish pollinators are in decline, with one third of our 98 bee species threatened with extinction,”
Dr. Úna FitzPatrick from the National Biodiversity Data Centre
Ireland is one of the first countries in Europe with FACTS:
a strategy to address pollinator decline and protect 99One
pollination services – the work of the humble Bee. with ethxitrindcotifoonuirn9I8rebleaendspecies are threatened
WHY ARE BEES IN TROUBLE?
Our bee population is declining because we’ve 99ifTnohotehdeacnRrnoeuppasulhbvalaiscluboeefeoInrfepelasotnlildmin. aatteodrsafto€r5h3ummiallnion
drastically reduced theareas where they can nest
and the amount of food our landscape provides for 99pDoelclilninaetosrisntwo isltdafrlvoawtieorns .are subjecting our
them. We’ve also inadvertently introduced pests and
diseases that negatively impact their health, and to 9rg9rteOoahsraoauddnuresrtnaicedlsenleosidsswf,eopfinirnlecagblyydeiwtnemoisgl.dtaairfdlgboyiinwgusepp,raastrnhttdeoinliganrnroepdwdasurcakaclspionenagngrtdahtheseer
make matters worse we subject them to levels of
pesticides that make it difficult for them to complete Five things you can do to
their life cycles! We are asking them to perform their HELP IN YOUR GARDEN
free services( pollinating all the fruit and vegetables
that we enjoy so much) in an increasing inhospitable 1. Make sure you have at least one flowering
environment.
If you’re a bee, finding enough food is the biggest food source from spring right though to
challenge you face. Because fewer wildflowers are winter
being allowed to grow we are subjecting our 2. Leave small areas of your lawn uncut to allow
pollinators to starvation. Fertiliser application has clovers to flower
resulted in increased crop yields, but also in severe 3. Don’t view dandelions as a weed but as a vital
declines in wildflowers in managed fields and spring food source for hungry bees
adjacent habitats. Our tendency to tidy up the 4. Avoid using pesticides
landscape rather than allowing wildflowers to grow 5. Try to avoid disturbing nesting or hibernating
along roadsides, field margins, and in parks and bees in area like long grass, bare soil, dead
gardens is playing a big part in reducing these wood or walls.
resources for bees.
www.activeirl.ie Active Retirement Ireland 133
