Volunteers will be packing flower seeds ready for this year's Bee Squared event. This project encourages people to swap 1 square metre of lawn (or similar) for flowering plants which will feed bees and other pollinating insects in the summer. The seeds will be given away to local people but first, they need to be packed. Why not come down for a bit between 10 and 1 and join in? This is great for community and green volunteers hours.
Bees and other pollinating insects are essential to life as we know it. Bees are vital to both pollinate the food we need to survive and pollinate many of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife.
Pollination is crucial because many of our vegetables, fruits and the crops that feed our livestock rely on it to be fertilised, so without it, we could go hungry. Vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus and cucumber rely on the pollination of bees, as do apricots, strawberries, apples, tomatoes and almonds.
Bees and other Insects need a huge amount of energy to fly from their home to fields where they collect nectar, and polinate plants in the process. They frequently fly several miles, and need regular fuel stops en-route.
Humanity has created huge towns in their flight paths. Traditionally, gardens had plenty of nectar-producing flowers, where insects could re-fuel. Modern gardens are frequently empty of fuel-stops.