Bees as keystone pollinators provide an essential service for maintaining and preserving the ecological balance in our world. They are necessary for our survival, cross-pollinating around 75 per cent of the world’s flowering plants, including three-quarters of food-producing plants. But did you know species are steeply declining?
Researchers recently analysed bee records collected by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, a government-funded network providing open-access data on biodiversity, and found that wild bee species have declined by 25 per cent since 1990.
Over 1700 species of bees in Australia rely on a healthy and productive environment to provide food and safe nesting habitats. Bees can forage successfully in urban environments, but to survive, they need sufficient amounts of floral resources available to them all year round. Unfortunately, the vast use of horticulture-modified plants and imported species produce little pollen and nectar for bees to feed on.
This Valentine’s Day, why not grow a bouquet for the bees to support our vital pollinators?
Valentine’s Day, a traditional day for giving flowers to those you love, is an ideal time to start supporting these vital pollinators by growing flowers in your garden. A Gift of Seeds that combines a greeting card and a packet of seeds to form a gift to grow is a perfect alternative gift to a bunch of flowers.
To increase the positive impact of growing flowers, we are donating $1 from every Gift of Seeds sold between 4 – 11 February 2022 to Wheen Bee Foundation*, an Australian not-for-profit charity that promotes awareness of the importance of bees for food security and raises funds for research that addresses the national and global threats to bees.
Growing flowers from seed not only provides a longer-lasting gift but gives back to the essential pollinators we all depend on. You don’t need a large backyard to make a difference. People living in apartments can grow flowers in pots or planter boxes on their balconies.
Bees are particularly attracted to blue, purple, violet, white, and yellow flowers and favour varieties like sunflowers, daisies, cosmos, zinnias, nasturtium, lavender and calendula.
Shop Gift of Seeds here
*Donation is only applicable on retail sales of Gift of Seeds purchased on sownsow.com. Donation of $90 was made on 3 March 2022.
