Free Bee Poster!
Bees Cuddling by JM Neely Photography
5 Kid Friendly Activities to attract Bees to your Garden!
And a free Bee friendly planting poster!
It’s National Honey Bee Day in the US on August 17th and while some of us might not be there, bees are so important that I think we need to celebrate them as much as we can. Bees do such an incredible and important job in the world pollinating our plants so that we can have fruit and vegetables. They are responsible for more than one third of the food we eat - how cool is that? So lets celebrate them and learn how we can attract them to our gardens, patio’s, windowsills, community gardens and where ever there is a little bit of space.
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Design a Bee Garden in your backyard.
Native Bees in Australia love flowers! Planting a mix of flowers and flowering herbs in your garden, or in a planter on your windowsill or verandah will let them know you love them. instead of scattering flower seeds everywhere, plant them in patches so that the bees can move around easily from flower to flower. Don’t forget to water and care for your flowers!
Build a Bee Hotel.
Bees need somewhere to live, and it’s a fun activity to build a bee hotel. Here is one I built for my garden. I used some bamboo and tied it together, then put in some attracting flowers to show them where I had hung it in my garden. Other designs like ones made out of bricks are also cool, anything they can get inside and shelter from the rain and weather is perfect.
Don’t use chemicals in your garden.
This is an easy one, because you don’t have to do anything! Garden chemicals can harm bees. There are natural insecticides that have neem in them that are bee safe and there are many home remedies. Here is a link to just one I found online.
Get Mulching and leave space for burrowing bees!
Mulch is great for your plants, and also attracts insects to your garden. Collecting native leaf litter is a fun afternoon activity, collect all the leaves and put them into your garden. Worms underground will also love you for it! Some bees love to burrow into the ground to make nests, so choose some areas to leave undisturbed for them!
Make a Bee Pool.
This is a fun activity to do together. With a birdbath or a basin, add sand or pebbles and make a shallow pool safe for bees to be able to have a drink and cool down in the hot weather. If you have a human pool, try to keep it covered because bees can easily drown pools.
Make a shallow pool for bees in your garden.
If you are worried about toads or other animals, put it up on a brick above the ground
Want one more?
Join in on a citizen science project counting bees in your backyard. It’s fun to do as a family. Bowerbird and Wild Pollinator Count are places to start. If we all care for our bees, they will be able to be healthy, which means healthy food plants and healthy humans.
