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 3, 2023
I have always been fascinated with peoples' every day carry, even the question of what do you need to carry on you every day to perform your daily tasks is incredibly intriguing. Well for me these items need to meet the requirements of my job, working in a London office with the goal to be sustainable. In this post I look at my key items I carry most days with my focus to be environmentally friendly and sustainable. Here is my Every Day Carry (EDC):
MATRIX Power Watch:
This is a smartwatch that is ‘powered by you’. I love technology but unfortunately it is often not very eco-friendly. However, Matrix came out with a smartwatch that tells the time, send you notifications and records your running activity. The reason this is sustainable is because it never needs to be charged, stopping the waste of typical smartwatches energy usage. It achieves this by using the temperature difference between your skin and the watches case to create an electrical charge and keep the watch powered. I like the rugged design of the watch and its basic functions but in my opinion it does need some work to meet the performance and abilities of other smartwatches. I am hoping this will be achieved in the Powerwatch 2 they plan on releasing in June 2019. Although, this watch does have it's problems, it is the only sustainable smartwatch on the market that I know of. I have also done a full review on this!
Axel Weinbrecht Inkless Metal Pen:
Pens and pencils are not very eco-friendly. The plastic, ink, paint, rubber, wood and other materials all gets wasted, as soon as the ink runs out or the pencil is too short to use, so I began to look for an alternative. This led me to the Axel Weinbrecht Inkless Pen. It is made from metal and states it will never run out, meaning you never create any waste. The pen does feel a little different to use but I have been using it for a number of month now and it hasn’t run out or look any different (shorter) from when I brought it, despite a few scratches. It has a simplistic design and is around the same size as a typical pen. One thing to note, is that it writes fairly faintly, potentially making it hard to read if you struggle with this. Additionally, it writes more like a pencil as it can be rubbed out but it does leave an indent where you have used it. Having said this. taking notes is a critical part of my job and this inkless pen is a great sustainable tool that stops the constant waste from pens and pencils. I also make sure to use recycled paper and a sustainable notebook to further reduce my environmental impact.
Moral Origins Cork wallet:
This wallet was a game changer for me. I have owned an embarrassing amount of wallets but have always found it difficult to find one that hold all of my cards (10), a few notes and a bit of change, whilst also being compact. I also wanted it to be sustainable and ethical. Well after much searching I came across the Moral Origins Cork Wallet. That for me completely meets my requirements including the ethical and sustainable aspects. The only downside to this wallet is that it does not carry a ton of notes. However, I been able to fit five notes behind my cards and If you have less cards you should be able to fit more in. Although, I should note that it is the 21st century and notes are not as commonly used as they were. One small issue with the wallet is that the brass screw would rub on the card potentially wearing them out ( I don't think this is a problem with their new wallet), so I stuck a paper card at the front to stop this from happening. The wallet uses cork, which is a great sustainable product that is durable, strong and vegan. You can buy the new wallet by Moral Origins either made for £15 or you can get it where you have to self-assemble it for £12.50. I went for the self-assembly (it was incredibly easy to assemble) that came with a single piece of cork and two pairs of brass screws that form it unique shape. I should note that I have the older version and Moral Origins wallet and they have come out with a newer one, which I assume is improved. As for mine I have been using this for about 6 months now and it still looks and works great. I have also done a full review of this!
Keys:
The last item on the list is my keys of course. I aim to not clutter these and consists of my house keys, shed key, bike lock keys and that is it. I try to keep my keys as simple and uncluttered as possible with no keychain.
This is just my EDC that I have adapted to be sustainable but still allows me to carry everything I need on a daily basis. However, yours might be different and I would love to see more sustainable options that may change mine, so share your EDC with me through the comments below and my social media (in the right hand corner). Finally, if you like this article and want me to do a what in my eco-bag article let me know and I will get to work on it.
Updated: Feb 3, 2023
You may have seen this pop up in your news feed on your social media or even in an ad on the side of a webpage, perhaps even this one now. You may ask yourself what is 4Ocean and why should you buy or care about their bracelet. Well you should and I am here to tell you.
4Ocean have managed to market and promote the importance of saving our oceans. They have taken the devastation of waste we produce away from the ocean and helped to raise awareness doing so. This is mostly seen with their bracelets, which is a fashion accessory you really should be wearing. Even if you do not want to wear the bracelet you should still purchase one and I hope this article gives you a reason too.
Who are 4Ocean?
4Ocean is an organisation that is dedicated to clearing and preventing the trash polluting our oceans. This is the main reason you should get their bracelet. By purchasing a bracelet, 4Ocean guarantee “1 pound of trash will be removed from the ocean and coastline”. They also help to raise awareness by providing specific legacy bracelets, which focuses on a particular themes or animal to protect. I decided to get the Shark bracelet, which is partnered with Project Aware, which “Helps save Sharks”. Project Aware among many things create rallies to bring safeguards for sharks and rays, hence the name Legacy Shark Bracelet. #4sharks.
As well as collecting trash and raising awareness they focus on using '4 pillars' to achieve this, these are:
Optimising Technology: By using the latest technology to prevent, intercept and remove trash from the ocean and coastline.
Creating Jobs: They have teams and crews of people that are cleaning the ocean 24/7 and this number is increasing.
Education& Awareness: They educate everyone from individuals to governments on the impact of plastic and trash all around the world.
New Economies: They create a value out of the trash they remove,
Did you see what they did there?
The Bracelet
The bracelet whilst looking amazing and promoting your love for this planet and particularly the ocean. It is also a great sustainable accessory. This is because it is made out of 100% recycled materials. The bracelet is a unisex design with glass beads, a 4Ocean stainless steel charm with the cord made from RPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate), which is from recycled water bottles. The beads are made from recycled glass bottles. Further to the greatness of the bracelet, it is 100% waterproof, meaning you won't have to take it off. One bracelet will set you back approximately £16 ($20). However, you should take into account this is not just for the bracelet but also for removing a pound of trash from the ocean and coastline.
4Ocean also produce reusable bottles and a clean-up kit (so you can help clean up the oceans and coastline yourself). However, you could just show your support for ridding the ocean of the waste we produce by getting a bracelet and promoting 4Oceans and their ethos. Hopefully by promoting this the war on plastic and waste will become universally accepted and companies will adopt prevention's to stop negative impacts on the environment. 4Oceans bracelets are one way to promote your love for the ocean and making an impact but there are many more organisations similarly doing amazing things like this. I would love to see what you have done to remove plastic and waste from the ocean and coastline or how you have supported companies or charities like 4Ocean, so show me your support on social media (top right corner).
