Bees: Un-BEE-lievable

Bee populations are declining globally for reasons including climate change, urban development, and pesticides. 

Bees are amongst the hardest working creatures on the planet. We should celebrate their gifts to us as pollinators of crops, fruit and flowers, and to raise awareness about the essential role bees and other pollinators play in safeguarding biodiversity.

A Swiss documentary “More than Honey” left a lasting impression on one Rotaractor, who convinced other Rotaract and Rotary members about the menacing problem that these little superheroes find themselves in, one that impacts us as humans as well. The hard-working wild bees are responsible for pollinating more than 75 percent of our crops and wild plants. If they die out, we cannot survive either.

Against bee mortality

Most of the dangers for bees are caused by humans. Climate change, monocultures and pesticides are just some of the major threats. So how can these problems be addressed? German Rotaractors launched the BeeAlive project to support wild bees in three ways.

Bee hotels

Rotaractors partnered with Rotary members to build bee hotels to aid the insects.

Actions

• Inform the public about bee mortality and its consequences for our environment. Clubs cooperated with beekeeping and conservation groups.
• Raise funds to cover the cost of projects that support conservation organizations and beekeeper associations. Some clubs held quizzes and sold homemade products related to bees or honey.
• Construct “bee hotels” where bees can rest on their way from one meadow to the next, and plant meadows with as many different plant species as possible to create a better environment for the insects.