Where would we be without bees?

Margaret Griffin

As far as important species go, they are top of the list. Bees produce sweet honey but more importantly they pollinate most of our plants, resulting in fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, a lot of crops that feed our animals, the plants that we harvest for coffee and cotton.

Imagine what the shelves in supermarkets and the menu in our favourite restaurant would look like if we didn’t have bees?

A world without the buzz of bees would definitely sting. If we respect nature, learn to grow with it, nature, bees and our children will thrive.

At Griffins in Dripsey, Margaret and her team believe the solutions to a bee friendly world are simple. If every home, school garden, business and community think about bees when planning their next outdoor project, we will protect our bee population.

Support the replanting of hedgerows and reintroduction of wild plants and shrubs to our country ditches. These natural borders were the home for so many habitats and flora.

The decline of the fragrant and beautiful honeysuckle and wild roses is a massive loss to all.

For 2020, when designing a garden or bed, we always encourage planting bee friendly plants like traditional cottage garden plants, herbs.

If possible, create a wild garden area for wild flowers and provide a nesting site by leaving a pile of leaves, twigs and grass in a sunny corner.

Each Tidy Towns and community group or town chambers should elect a sub team who are interested and excited about nature and wildlife. Have small patches of wildflowers here and there in margins, gardens, waste ground, roadside verges and motorway embankments. A small change in each project could make a big difference.

Griffins have adapted the Poulavone roundabout in Ballincollig and have committed to bee friendly plants and gardening techniques. This roundabout created a great buzz last summer.

The bees arrived in large numbers to the roundabout and it was truly buzzing. This year with the help of Ballincollig Tidy Towns we will be extending the pollinator corridors in Ballincollig.

My love of nature has come from my parents and my wish is that parents would encourage their children to love and respect nature.

Design homes and gardens to be fun and friendly for children and bees. Get children off their iPads and into the gardens. Check out The Slug Club at Griffins where kids learn all about nature and gardening while having fun.