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 Bee Together

Organised by Bee Together and natur&ëmwelt Sektioun Stad, more than 20 people came out to plant perennials to foster a friendly environment for solitary bees.

“We participated in the event as we are aware of the issues surrounding the use of pesticides and the negative impact on the environment (including the bees and ourselves),” participant Andrew Gresham said, adding; “In a small way we hope our effort helped. In addition, I was looking at a different way to encourage my kids to get outside and in the nature. We had a great time and will look to sign-up for future events.”

Vital for biodiversity

Adults and children from many nationalities put on their boots and gloves, dug into the earth and enjoyed the sunny, spring day while planting 12 types of bee-friendly varieties in a circle around the insect hotel.

While most people think of bees as the producers of honey, bees are also a vital part of our flora biodiversity and ecosystem. This is something we take for granted.

The morning started with Nico Hoffman, natur&ëmwelt Sektioun Stad, giving the group a short talk about how solitary bees live and thrive, and how important they are to our everyday lives in contributing to biodiversity.

At the end of the planting everyone sat down for a picnic and enjoying a warm bowl of soup while viewing the results of their labour.

Everyone was so gratified to see what their hard work had accomplished. In a few months they will come back and see how the new garden has flowered and watch the bees as they fly from flower to flower.

Go pesticide-free

One thing you can do for solitary bees, and pollinators in general, is to use pesticide-free plants in your garden that you can purchase from one of the producers/suppliers listed in the brochure "The Importance of Pesticide-Free Flowers and Ornamental Plants".  On the Ouni Pestiziden page, you can find a list of the Latin and German names of the plants sold by each supplier.

If you are interested in activities and events related to nature and the environment, you can join natur&ëmwelt and Bee Together’s mailing list.