An Interview With A Beekeeper
This month we are focusing on Wildlife Gardening with our Environmental Calendar. One of the many benefits to having a wild space in your garden is to help the threatened bee population. We wanted to find out more about the state of bees in the UK and how we can all help protect them.
Keith McMahon is a beekeeper based in Surbiton, UK, who is hugely passionate about the environment and the conservation of our diverse British pollinators. He very kindly agreed to an interview with us where we were able to discuss how he got inspired by beekeeping, about the general keeping of honey bees, about the other pollinator species in the UK and towards the end of the interview we chatted about how you can help. Please click the video below to start watching.
Since making this video, we have heard from the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) that the pesticide neonicotinoid will now not be used on sugar beet in the UK in 2021. This was a topic discussed in the interview along with why pesticides such as these are so harmful to bees. Research has suggested that the cold weather has had a significant impact on the aphid population and therefore neonics will not be required. This is good news for 2021, but campaigners continue to lobby for a complete ban for future years. Further details can be found here.
During the interview, Keith recommends a few books and organisations and you will find links and details below:
Books
Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland by Steven Falk
Pollinator Friendly Gardening: Gardening for Bees, Butterflies, and Other Pollinators by Rhonda Fleming Hayes
Bee Quest by Dave Goulson
Gardening for Bumblebees by Dave Goulson
Website
The Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects: University of Sussex
YouTube Video
Professor Ratniek discusses the work on honeybees at Sussex university
Things You Can Do At Home
Create flower scapes - plant a variety of flowers in your garden.
Leave a corner wild - leave a corner of your garden to go wild. Scatter a variety of wildflower seeds which not only support our pollinator population in the summer but also will support bird populations when they go to seed.
Make a small pond or fill a bucket with stones and water.
Grow your own herbs (which will also help reduce your waste!).
Please click below to visit our Environmental Calendar to learn more about Wildlife Gardening and other important environmental topics.
