Bee Aware Week

This week is Bee Aware Week (24th-30th October).

The Women's Institute have launched the campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the honey bee.

They state on their website that,

"Currently, honey bees are coming under threat from pests and diseases for which treatments are not fully understood or are ineffective. Many bee keepers have experienced the complete destruction of their hives from such diseases, whilst the UK is losing its bee population at around 30% a year (up from just 6% in 2003). The UK has 250 species of bees, three of which have already become nationally extinct."

They call you to action by asking you to:

• If you have a garden or a window box, fill it with bee-friendly plants and flowers. Plant up a window box with asters and sunflowers, make a bee-haven out of a sunny corner with foxgloves, hollyhocks and larkspur, and choose trees such as willows and limes for bigger gardens.
• Get in touch with a local beekeeper and ask them how you can best help protect the honeybee.
• Encourage your local community to plant more flowers to increase bees' food sources. If a local community group is planning to plant up an area of land, why not suggest that they use some bee-friendly flowers and shrubs?

As farmer's, we here at Valley View Farm are very aware of the bee population and try to farm in a bee friendly way.

I am also hoping to have my own bee hive very soon.