Wexford in Bloom would like to bring your attention to a biodiversity campaign that Wexford Tidy Towns are running this year. On Thursday the 10th April 2014, there was a large attendance at the new Wexford Town Library for the launch of the “Let’s Bee Friendly” campaign. The ‘Let’s Bee friendly’ campaign is, being jointly launched by Wexford Tidy Towns Biodiversity Group supported by Wexford County Council as an action under the Wexford County Biodiversity Action Plan 2013-218, which is aimed at helping safeguard Ireland’s bees and other under-threat pollinators. Throughout 2014 the ‘Let’s Bee friendly’ campaign is helping schools and public areas such as libraries, parks, community gardens etc. to establish pollinator friendly gardens and wildflower meadows through encouraging the planting of suitable nectar plants to flower for as much of the year as possible. The idea is simply to ask people to plant some “bee friendly” shrubs and flowers in their gardens.
Bees are the most important pollinating insect because they visit flowers to collect food for their larvae, as well as feeding on floral resources as adults. In Ireland crops such as apples, clover, strawberries and oilseed rape all benefit from pollination and a recent study from the Department of the Environment valued this ‘ecosystem service’ that bees provide at €85m a year to the economy. Of the 100 crops that provide 90% of the world’s food supply, 71 of these crops are pollinated by bees. There are colourful brochures with advice on the different plants, including daffodils, willows, heathers, rosemary, lavender etc., which are available at all local gardening stockists and which are bee friendly as well as tips on how you can help the bees.