permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

http://www.co-operative.coop/corporate/Press/Press-releases/Headline-news/Bee-roads-to-act-as-main-routes-for-pollinators/

Bee roads to act as main routes for pollinators

April 12, 2011

The Co-operative today (April 12) launched an ambitious project to
instigate a series of “Bee Roads” across the country which will act as
food-rich main routes for pollinators.

As part of its extended £750,000 Plan Bee campaign, The Co-operative
will help identify and convert corridors of land to create and secure
habitats for pollinators.

By encouraging and supporting landowners to create wildflower meadows,
the Bee Roads will promote species such as Lesser Knapweed, Field
Scabious, Birdsfoot Trefoil and Red Clover, which are becoming
increasingly rare in the British countryside. These wildflowers will
offer a rich habitat for a host of pollinators such as honeybees,
hoverflies, butterflies and moths to find the nectar and pollen they
need.

The Co-operative and its partner Buglife will create the first Bee
Roads in Yorkshire, where farmers and other landowners will sow
wildflowers in two long rows that will eventually stretch north to
south and east to west across the county.

By demonstrating the benefits of reinstating 5 hectares of lost
wildflower meadows in Yorkshire, it is hoped this £60,000 pilot
project will be emulated in other counties across the country,
reversing the decline in pollinator numbers.

Paul Monaghan, Head of Social Goals at The Co-operative said: “The UK
has lost an alarming 97 per cent of its wildflower meadows since the
1930s and this has had a major impact on pollinator numbers. The
number of honeybees in the UK has halved in the last 25 years, and
three quarters of butterfly species and two thirds of moths have seen
population declines since the 1970’s.

“Given that honeybees alone pollinate a third of the food we eat, a
further decline in their numbers could have a devastating impact on
our diets in the long run.”

“By setting up these ‘Bee Roads’ we hope to make life easier for all
pollinators and reverse their alarming decline.”

In recognition of the key role that wildflower habitats play in
sustaining pollinators, The Co-operative’s Plan Bee is also giving
away a further 300,000 packets of wildflower seeds in 2011.

Plan Bee, also includes supporting the native British bee, encourages
the growth of urban beekeeping and takes action on pesticide usage and
is an integral part of The Co-operative’s Ethical Operating Plan which
was launched in February.



Additional Information:

Plan Bee is an on-going campaign, worth over £750,000, to help reverse
the decline of the UK honeybee population and other at risk
pollinators such as bumblebees, butterflies and moths. Plan Bee
focuses on four key areas:

Taking action on our farms

The Co-operative Farms will increase the number of hives on its
farmland from 400 to 1,300 and seek to utilise northern European
strains of honeybee where possible.



Funding new scientific research

The Co-operative will fund new scientific research into the effects of
pesticides on bees, and the mapping and breeding of native bees.



Engaging our customers and members

The Co-operative helps its customers and members to become
pollinator-friendly gardeners, with advice and tips, through the Plan
Bee campaign and on the Plan Bee website. In addition, The
Co-operative will distribute a further 300,000 packets of free wild
flower seeds to Co-operative members and customers bringing the total
distributed to 900,000.

The Co-operative supports its members to take up beekeeping, and has
established urban beekeeping training projects in Manchester, London,
Inverness, Mid Antrim and Sheffield.



Taking action on pesticides

The Co-operative Food will continue with its temporary prohibition on
the use of six neonicotinoid-based pesticides on own-brand fresh and
frozen produce, which was introduced in 2009.

For further information on The Co-operative’s Ethical Operating Plan
please visit: www.jointherevolution.coop


Contact Information:

Dave Smith
The Co-operative Group Press Office
Tel: 0161 827 5614
Mob: 07702 152771