Updated: Feb 5, 2023
The importance of bees should be without question and many of you may already know why we should save them. However, even now as it is slowly (too slowly) being brought to our attention the reasons why we need to pay more attention to their numbers and the fact they are depleting shows we need to do more. Before I go on, to clarify, bees are important because through their goal to obtain pollen and nectar for food, they pollinate millions of plants in the process. This is important because this leads to the production of seeds for more plants to grow and even for the fruit to develop for us to eat. If you are still not convinced the reason this is important is because these plants produce the oxygen we breathe and help to combat the large amounts of carbon emissions we produce. Further to this, there are the millions of plants that are gorgeous to look at and should be able to survive in an environment that is theirs as much it is ours, that also gives our wildlife a home. So for this reason we need to help the bees to not just survive but thrive, making the bigger question ‘how can we help the bees?’
Here is how you can help the bees today!
There can many steps to helping bees without invest a lot of time and money in becoming a full time beekeeper or devoting your life to their development. Although there is the famous honey bees there are actually nearly 20,000 different types. In the UK the majorities are solitary bees like the Bumblebee, which do not live in large colonies. There are many easy measures you can take that will contribute to bees success and increasing there numbers but here are a few of them:
Try not to kill them:
Sounds silly I know but a lot of people are afraid of bees and more so getting stung by them. This is completely rational but that doesn’t mean you should swat, hit or squash them or take a hose to their nest because you think they are too close to your house or your space. At the very least the best thing you can do is leave the bees be. If they have intruded too much then get a professional bee keeper who will often be happy to collect the bees to take them to a safer and better place for them to start a colony. Remember bees live everywhere outside, so we are sharing our space with them.
Habitat:
Now, this doesn’t have to be a hive in your back garden but there is more than one type of bee. You may have seen them in shops but you can get small bug huts, which is great for solitary bees. Otherwise, you could take up bee keeping and invest in a bee hive. Before you panic though, investing in a bug hut does not invite a swarm of bees in your back garden but provides a habitat for insect to rest and stay. This includes insect that pollinate your garden, importantly the solitary bees, which make up over 90% of the UK’s bee species. Look for a spot that catches the sun in the morning but remains a shady and cool place all day, which gives cover from predators (birds, snakes, rats). Also, ensure that the bug hut sits in a position it will not receive too much rain and allows for water to drip away and not sit, which could potentially drown the occupants. Many bees will also lay their larva in this, so you are supporting the next generation of bees.
Planting:
There are many plants that help bees through the amount of pollen and nectar they offer and the longevity of the plant throughout the year. By providing these in your garden you are helping the bees to collect the pollen and nectar they need. Some of my top choices are lavender, Dahlia, Foxgloves, Sweet Williams, bluebells, Sunflowers and Thyme just to name a few. If you want some more information on some of these, please go to my post on “Top Plants for bees”
Food and water:
In the summer bees work incredibly hard. This can lead to them running out of energy and becoming dehydrated. You can help them through providing a pit stop for them to rehydrate and to give them an energy boost. To do this make a sugar water solution (RSPB suggest two tablespoons of white granulated sugar with one tablespoon of water) and put it on a small plate or spoon in your garden. This rehydrates the bee and gives it energy to continue on its task of collecting pollen and thus pollinating your plants. However, be careful not to have the water too deep, as the bees may drown. If you do this, be sure to send me a picture or video of your bees with #feedthebees.
Support your local beekeeper:
If you want to continue and go the extra mile give your support to your local beekeeper. This can be through donations to them, buying their raw and natural honey or buying their other bee products. This will often taste better than mass produced honey, is better for the environment and means the beekeeper can obtain more hives, meaning more bees for the environment in your area. If possible, support a beekeeper who does not use a smoker to be more ethical.
Promote the bee:
Finally, try to promote the bee as much as you can. I don’t think it’s best to go around “preaching” about bees but if it comes up in conversation always try to persuade people to do more. Especially, if you have kids get them to recognise the importance of bees, so the next generation has a better understand of how and why you should take care of them. Even buying products with a bee symbols can increase their prominence and hopefully make people take more notice of these beautiful and amazing creature and all they do for us.
One more thing to note is to be wary of the products you purchase and the impact this may have on bees. For example many fruit and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides that kill bees, so should be avoided if possible. Also, mass produced honey can be unethical and actually more damaging, so be wary of this. I hope I gave you something to think about and some easy and useful ways you can help bees. Always try to remember what bees do for our planet, plants and agriculture and to implement some of the tips above to help them thrive. Anyway, I would love to see what you have done, so make sure to send me pictures and videos of how you have helped bees on my social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) with #supportthebees #Helpthebees #Bee-kind #feedthebees #plantforthebees and any other tags that will get more people’s attention.
Updated: Feb 4, 2023
After many, many years of the devastation that plastic has caused to the environment, it is finally getting the notoriety it needs to change it. Quite simply, plastic is destroying the planet you live in or at least many of the innocent, incredible and amazing creatures in it. I am sure you have seen horrible images of plastic bottles, wrappers and other items that litter the countryside or perhaps the more recent images on the internet of beautiful animals that have been killed due to the plastic humans have carelessly chucked into the environment. Well in this article I am going to look at the problems with plastic, the affect it is having and how you can prevent this negative impact. It is important to understand that it is not just knowing the impact of the these issues but what you can do and easily change in your life to stop this problem.
The Problem
Globally, around 300 million tons of plastic is produced with only 10% of this is recycled. Each UK household will produce over a tonne of waste mounting to 31 million tons each year. Of all this waste that is produced each year, around 7 million tons of it, unfortunately ends up in the sea. Additionally, it is important to note that there is a lot of waste that is not plastic but the reason plastic is so important is because it does not degrade over time, making it an issue for tens to hundreds of years to come, so I hope you can see the problem. However, if you are still not convinced of the impact plastic is having already here are some key aspects that plastic affect:
Animals and wildlife: As seen in the news and most arguably the sadist affect is those on our wildlife. To put it bluntly animals are being harmed, hurt and killed by plastic. This is having a large effect on marine life and birds, often resulting in a slow and painful death and leads to the many animals downfall in population.
Visual: Plastic is ruining many sites that could be very beautiful. Whether it is the beach, local parks or just around the city, town or village centre the sight of rubbish is not pretty. Additionally, it slows down and harms the environment, which is preventing nature and wildlife to grow and thrive.
Landfill: There is a lot of plastic that cannot be recycled and therefore ends up in landfill. I am not going into the problems with landfills but this is an issue. This is incredibly Important with plastic, as it does not degrade, so even when it is buried it stays in the ground and poisons the land for years to come.
To highlight how serious this issue is I believe a quote from Paul Watson summarises it perfectly “If the ocean die, we die”. It is important to note that we are sharing the planet with thousands of species who have the right to be safe and live freely, as much as we do. Please consider the impacts above to give you the motivation and reasons to be part of the prevention and solution below.
The Prevention
It is common knowledge that prevention is always better then remedy or solution and should be the focus on what you do before plastic becomes a further problem than it already is. To help you with this, here are some key steps for prevention:
Use less – Easy to say I know but again it can be easily done. Reduce what you buy in plastic in all aspects and what you can easily change to stop the use of plastic. This can be by not purchasing packaged fruit and vegetables and using reusable bags, instead of the plastic ones supermarkets provide or looking at using a safety razor to stop the plastic from heads of typical modern razors.
Drop less – Whether you just ‘missed’ the bin, left it right by the bin or just left it on the floor in a location because everyone else was doing it, something many of us have been guilty of, try to stop it. Put your rubbish into a bin, preferably a recycled one to stop litter entering the environment. This is seen a lot on chewing gum and cigarette butts, which although is not plastic still should not be tossed on the floor for future generations to clear up. If there is no bin, take it home.
Recycle – As mentioned above ensure all plastic you use goes into a recycling bin, whether at home, at work or outside. Recycling helps to stop plastic going into landfill and wreaking havoc on the environment and wildlife. In the UK a supermarket, Morrisons, have installed reverse-vending machine that take old empty bottles for recycling and give you 10p in return. I have seen similar strategies in other countries but all help to promote recycling plastic, which is always a great step forward. Also check your local supermarket, which might recycle additional palstic such as soft plastic packaging that often cannot go in your weekly recycle pick up.
Reuse – There are so many items that are made of plastic, which have reusable options, such as bags, cups, mugs, bottles and straws to name a few. All of which is an easy change to make that could save you money over time but also help to stop the production of more plastic and the plastic waste you contribute too.
Zero Waste Stores – Recently, there have been a rise in zero waste stores. These quirky stores usually do not have any packaging but bulk products that you can buy often on weight or number. This requires you to bring your own packages (sustainable and reusable) but like above means less waste is created. Find your local store and start using it for your weekly shops.
Use Biodegradable plastic – A final solution is looking for products that use biodegradable plastic. This ensures that it will not have a permanent affect on the environment, as it degrades in a shorter amount of time. Biodegradable is a last resort but stops the long-term impact of plastic.
The Solution
Above are the problems with our waste and plastic and how we can reduce and prevent this problem occurring. However, there is still tonnes of waste and plastic already causing damage and devastation. Here is how you can help be part of the solution:
Clean-up – Start a group, get in touch with a group or just go it on your own to start making a difference. Start a day where you can go through your local park, beach, neighbourhood and other neglected areas to pick up rubbish for recycling and proper disposal. Be aware, if this is being done on a large scale you may need to talk to your local authority about collecting the rubbish at the end. Additionally, take precautions, as some waste can be sharp and dangerous.
Donate – There are many people who help to collect plastic and waste for proper recycling and disposal, even if you don’t do it yourself, you can fund those that do. There are many charities and organisations that help to clean up rubbish and plastic in many areas, so donate to one that is near you to help your local area.
Support – Another way you can help is similar to donating but where you buy products that support or are part of cleaning up the environment. This way you get something in return but also contribute to removing plastic from the environment. Although there are many companies that do this, two of the well-known and popular ones are:
Parley Ocean Plastic: They upcycle waste from beaches and coastal communities before it reaches the ocean. This is then used to make products that you can buy, most notably the Adidas Parley range.
4Ocean: Much like the above but more niche, 4Ocean have created a bracelet using recycled materials. By purchasing one of their bracelets, 1 pound of trash will be removed from the ocean and coastline. They also have limited edition bracelets, which help raise awareness for specific subjects such as the one I got for sharks (above). They also have a range of other products all helping to reduce plastic in the ocean and coastline.
I know this is jumping on the bandwagon shouting about plastic and for the most part you may already be doing your bit but this is becoming a bigger issue and needs solving sooner than later. Not only do we need to prevent plastic becoming a bigger issue, it already has become such an issue we need to rectify it. Plastic is drastically affecting our world, as seen in the current news and social media posts. The effect of which is devastating on innocent creatures that are being killed by us through our actions and neglect. If you are going to take anything away from the above, let it be this. Try to avoid plastic as much as possible, when you do use it ensure it is recycled and look for alternatives that do not damage the environment. Finally, I would love to see what you have done to help the fight against the plastic problem, so show me by sharing it on my social media (up in the right hand corner).
Updated: Feb 3, 2023
The use of snares is an incredibly controversial subject in the UK and even around the world. There are many debates between people who agree with the use of them to help control the populations of wildlife and those who believe that it is a cruel and nasty method that leads to the unpleasant death of an innocent animal. The use of snares has a large affects on our wildlife, the environment and the ethics surrounding the treatment of wild animals. Therefore, I thought I would weigh in, here are my thoughts on the use of snares in the UK:
Are snares legal in the UK?
Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Wildlife Order (Northern Ireland) 1985, self-locking snares are illegal but free-running snares are legal throughout the UK.
What is a snare?
A snare is a trap usually to capture a bird or mammal using a noose of wire or cord. There are two types of snares that are most commonly used, which as mentioned above are free-running and self-locking snares.
Free-running snares: Is a wired loop that hooks onto the animal tightening to stop it escaping; when and if the animal relaxes and stops pulling the noose can become loose.
Self-locking snares: As before is a wire loop that continuously tightens, often through a ratchet action, as the animal struggles. It only tightens and will not become loose, even if the animal relaxes and stops pulling.
Why are free-running snares legal?
So, why are these contraptions that harm animals legal in the UK (UK only allow free-running snares and not self-locking). Well they are often defended for their use in 'pest control' and wildlife management, mainly for foxes and rabbits. Additionally, they are used for trapping animals for food and research programmes. The law does state that any snare set has to be set to capture a specific animal, and must be done so not to snare others. This is due to it being illegal to snare many animals such as badgers, hedgehogs, pine martens, otters, wild cats, and red squirrels to name a few. Although, the list of what can and can’t be snared differs depending on the country (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) snares can still be placed throughout the UK but does require a permit and permission from the landowner. An additional requirement is that snares are inspected daily and set in a way to not cause injury to any wild animals (often it does).
So, what is the main problem?
After all this, there is a long debate as to if snares should be legal and if they should be banned. This is often seen by the strong criticism from animal welfare groups. The strongest argument for those in support of snares is to help control animal numbers for wildlife management and although this could be argued as being beneficial, I strongly believe that snares should not be used even for this reason. Here are my reasons to why all snares should be illegal:
Death – Simply, the reason that the snare is designed to capture a free roaming, wild animal to be killed is enough in its own right.
Stress & Pain – Prior to the animals’ death the snare will cause high amount and prolonged stress and pain, which nothing should go through.
Harm protected species – Even if snares were accepted as useful when managed correctly to helps control animal population it could have adverse affects on other wildlife. There are still times where animals (sometimes endangered) that should not be caught by the snare often are and sometimes results in their death.
The mechanism – Again if snares were accept, as above, it is still a dangerous unethical and violent option to achieve wildlife management. This is emphasized in that many snares that are set-up are set-up incorrectly and in certain locations or when they become damaged, quickly become a self-locking snare and a potentially slow killing trap.
Alternatives – Further to this, if animal control is 100% required there are many other traps with safer means of capturing the animal. These alternative do not cause as much or any harm and distress to the animal. Essentially meaning there is no real reason for the continued use of the snare.
What can you do?
After all of this I would like to think you have a negative outlook towards snares and want to do something about preventing them being used in your area or country. To help you with this there are three essential ways to go about doing this:
Sign a petition – There are tons of petitions in regards to animal welfare, protecting wildlife and importantly in this case stopping the use of snares, so you can sign them right now.
Share the news – Tell people and share information on your social media about snares and what they do. This can be to persuade them to sign the petitions above and understand the harm snares really cause.
Join a group – Much like the petition there are tons of groups who protest against cruelty to animals and for the protection of wildlife. You could join a group to get people to take notice and make a change. This can also put pressure on governments to change the law on the use of snares.
This is one of my more serious blog posts that I have done but I really hope it will make you think of what is going on in the UK and how its wildlife is managed. If you haven't guested I strongly disagree with the use of snares, due to all the issues I detailed above but mainly comes down to the prolonged pain and stress that any animal caught in one goes through. I don’t think anything should have to go through a prolonged period of pain and stress, especially before they are slaughtered. Let me know what you think and start spreading this post to get more people aware of snares and how to stop them. Finally, use the hashtag #Stopthesnare on your social media accounts to further help spread the word. Remember we can make a difference.