World Bee Day 2021

What is World Bee Day?

World Bee Day takes place on 20th May each year, with the purpose of raising awareness of the importance of preserving bees, beekeeping other pollinators.

World Bee Day was first launched in 2014 by The Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association, this initiative was then supported by the Slovenian Government. On 20th December 2017, the initiative was backed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York declaring 20th May World Bee Day.

Here at Regatta, our head office is based in Manchester. For those of you who don't know - the worker bee is the symbol of Manchester and has been used since the early 1800s and became part of the Manchester coat of arms in 1842. The symbol can be found on a number of Manchester's buildings including Manchester Town Hall, Manchester University, Spring Gardens, Hotel Gotham, and many more places all over the city. The worker bee represents Manchester's hardworking past and how the workers of Manchester made Manchester the place it is today.

Why are bees important?

Bees are so important as they're one of the major pollinators in the world but sadly they're in decline.

They are renowned for producing food such as honey and royal jelly, as well as carrying pollen between flowers. According to World Bee Day bees and other pollinators contribute nearly three-quarters of the plants that produce 90% of the world’s food and over the past 50 years, the amount of crops that depend on pollinators has tripled, for example, fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts and oilseeds. Protecting these pollinators could make a big difference in solving problems with the global food supply.

How can you help?

• Planting Pollinator Plants - For bees to be able to pollinate they need plants where they can access nectar and pollen. You should look for open flowers where they can gain easy access, a good example of this would be bluebell, lavender, and particularly anything purple as bees can see the colour purple more than any other colour.
• Don't Use Chemicals - Bees don't like chemicals especially pesticides as they can be really harmful and even kill bees.
• Spread The Word! - With social media it's now easier than ever to share messages to thousands of people, like, share and comment as every interaction helps.
• Create a Bee Bath - Bees need water for a number of different reasons, you can create a water bath in your garden fairly easily. All you need is a shallow bowl that you can fill with water and some stones that you can place in the water for the bees to be able to rest on whilst they take some water.