How to Celebrate World Bee Day

Celebrating the Day

Wear bee-themed clothes and accessories. If you have any clothes or accessories with bees on them, this is a more obvious way to dress, but even if you don't, wearing black and yellow is also a great idea for this day, especially if it's striped. If you want something less subtle, you could make a bee costume, or even a beekeeping suit. If you go to school, you can propose a "dress down" day, where people wear bee-themed outfits to school on this day and give a donation to a charity that helps bees. If you don't have anything bee-themed or black and yellow, you could instead wear floral clothes.

Have a bee-themed party. Having a party can help people be more aware of the issues relating to bees. You can offer bee-themed food, such as cakes, have people dress in bee-themed outfits, have bee decorations, music about bees or honey (there's more than you'd think!) and have donation buckets so that people can give money to a charity for bees. Bumblebee by ABBA is a great choice of music as it is specifically about the demise of bees due to climate change. Other appropriate songs include: I'm a King Bee - The Rolling Stones Honey Honey - ABBA Honey Bee - Albert King Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee - Julie London Queen Bee - Grand Funk Railroad Honey Pie - The Beatles

Display bee decorations. You can make your own if you have the time and resources, otherwise you can buy some. If finding specific bee decorations is hard and you can't make your own, yellow and black decorations also look nice. Honeycomb-style decorations also work. Try to get decorations which can be used more than once. Decorations which get thrown out after use are wasteful, both for your money and for the environment. You can encourage your school, university or workplace to hang up bee decorations, this way the decorations have a further reach.

Do bee arts and crafts. There are infinite bee-themed crafts for people of all ages and abilities. You can make your own thing, or find inspiration on websites like wikiHow or Pinterest. Decorations are a good choice as you can hang them up. If you want, you could even make something to attract bees. Flowers are also nice to make as they can complement the bees. If you can't think of anything bee-related you want to make, you could instead find some black and yellow crafts to make. Cute bumblebee-themed arts and crafts to try include: A stuffed bumblebee toy Clay bees A bee mobile Bee jewellery Painting stones as bees

Helping to Save the Bees

Donate to bee-friendly charities. Some charities that help bees include Pollinator Partnership, Planet Bee Foundation, The Bee Conservancy and the Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund. You can also host a fundraiser to raise more money for the chosen charity. If you can't find a charity specific to bees, many charities that help the environment also focus on bees, such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. Beware of charities that do more harm than good, such as PETA. If in doubt, search the charity name online, with the word "controversy" to see what appears.

Consume honey mindfully. Some people may opt to not eat honey altogether. Honey is made specially for bees to eat and is the best thing bees can eat for their health. On top of this, bees are often not treated well by beekeepers, especially those of large businesses. You can replace honey with other sweeteners, such as syrup. If you still choose to eat honey, aim for more ethically sourced ones. Buying raw honey from local farmers is the best option.

Keep your efforts up. The bees need us throughout the year, not just one date. World Bee Day gives us an opportunity to raise awareness and reflect on what more we could be doing to help, however if you only think about the bees once a year then your efforts are performative. On World Bee Day, you can make a pledge for what you can be doing to help save the bees, and encourage others to do the same.

Raising Awareness

Educate yourself. Many people don't know why bees are so important to our survival as a planet. World Bee Day is the best time to learn more, both for yourself, and so that you can educate others. You can learn through books, documentaries, the Internet, or even by talking to experts. Did you know? 90% of the world's flowers, and 75% of the world's food crops depend on bees. If you know an expert on this topic, you could request that they do a talk for others. This could be at a school, university, or open to members of the public. The best place to learn is through experts.

Explain how a decline in bees will impact humans. Many people don't care about bees as they don't see how they are important to us. Explaining this can make people more likely to take action. We depend on bees for nutritious food, such as fruit, nuts and vegetables. A lack of bees means more reliance on staple crops, leading to a more unhealthy, unbalanced diet. Not only this, but they also make out food taste better. Without bees and other pollinators, we will lose many different types of plants, as well as the organisms that depend on them. We also rely on pollinators for biofuels, medicines, fibres and construction materials.

Spread awareness online. The Internet is an easy way of reaching out to lots of people from all around the world. You can use social media, online videos, or a blog to help raise awareness. Use hashtags such as #WorldBeeDay or #SaveTheBees to reach out to people. Fact check what it is you are saying. Unfortunately misinformation is common online and spreads quicker than accurate information. Provide reliable sources for any information you provide. If someone else provides information that seems doubtful, you can fact check the information yourself, or ask them for a trusted source.

Hang up posters. Posters can grab people's attention and make them want to know more. Having an eye-catching poster which concisely explains the problem and what people can do to help can be effective. Beware of paper and printer usage. It is more effective to have fewer posters in places which are more likely to be seen, that have lots of posters spread out in places which people are less likely to notice.

Take political action. Many issues that affect bees are unlikely to completely go away without government intervention. Research the issues that need to be addressed in your area, and take action for those. Things you may campaign for include banning pesticides, more green areas, stricter laws on how beekeepers can treat bees and more protection of natural environments, such as national parks, the Green Belt, or even smaller areas, such as forests and community gardens. You can campaign through methods such as signing and creating petitions, getting in touch with MPs, senators, representatives, councillors, or anyone else who has influence, attending protests, or joining a political party that supports such measures. If you live in a country with an indigenous population, such as the United States, Canada, or Australia, make sure they get a say in the issue. Because their people were there first, they generally have a better idea of how to help their local ecosystems. If you find that no one in your area has started any campaign to help the bees, or no one is talking about it, don't be afraid to start things off! Many people may be more willing to join in a campaign if someone starts one.

Making Your Garden Bee-Friendly

Plant flowers and other plants. Flowers and other plants are a necessity for the survival of bees. If you have a garden or allotment, planting flowers there is an easy way to accommodate bees. On top of this, it also makes your garden look nice. If you don't have space to plant flowers, you can plant some in a community garden. Good choices of plants include lavender, ivy, marjoram, borage blue and rhododendron, but most plants work. Plant through the seasons. A common mistake is to only plant flowers for the summer. This means bees have a harder time getting nutrition in the autumn, winter and spring. Find flowers that bloom outside of the summer season as well, so that bees can gather pollen all year round. Plants native to your specific area are always the best choice for the bees.

Cut your lawn less. Having a longer lawn can mean that there is more wildlife for bees to pollinate, and the grass gives them space to feed. If you do cut your lawn, don't cut it as short as you normally would. Weeds are also beneficial to bees so try to keep them if you can.

Avoid pesticides. Pesticides are harmful to bees and have been a significant contributing factor to their decline. There are many alternatives to pesticides, such as homemade fungicides, low impact pesticides and insecticidal soap. These usually cause less harm to pollinators.

Get a bee hotel. You can either buy one, or create your own. These provide solitary bees with accommodation in a setting that mimics a beehive. It may take time, but bees will start to stay there and lay eggs inside. You should clean the bee hotel once a year.