The 4the Class Pupils at St. Cynocs National School have undertaken a ‘Bee Friendly’ Project, this was inspired by the National Pollinator Plan 2015-2020, which was launched in Ireland in September 2015. Below is some pictures of plants they have sown.
In 2015 bee experts in Ireland came together to produce the All- Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020. They decided to do this because we know that lots of our bees are in big trouble and could disappear from Ireland if we don’t do something to help. Without bees we won’t be able to grow our own fruits and vegetables, and our wild flowers will begin to disappear making Ireland a very dull place. We don’t want this to happen. We want to hear the buzz of hard working bees carrying out their important pollination work. We want them to be there so that we can grow healthy food to feed you, and so that you can grow healthy food to feed your children someday. To stop bees disappearing from Ireland we need your help. We need you to tell everyone how important bees are. We also need you to make your school and garden a safe place for bees to live.
What can You Do To Help In Your School?
We need everyone’s help. We need you to make sure your school becomes bee friendly.
1 Plant lots of different flowers in pots or flowerbeds around your school. Your teacher will be able to get a list of what
flowers bees like best. Try make sure there are flowers to provide food for bees every month from spring through to the autumn. We need food every day – bees do too!
2 Plant a shrub that flowers in early spring – this provides very hungry queen bumblebees with lots to eat. Queen bumblebees have to visit about 6000 flowers every day when they come out of hibernation! Good shrubs are Willow, Hazel, Broom,hyrberis,Pyracantha, Mahonia.
3 Grow some fruits and vegetables like strawberries, raspberries, peas, courgettes or apples. Their flowers will provide food
for bees in spring and early summer. In return you’ll get healthy nutritious food. We know that you might be on
your summer holidays when the fruit and vegetables are ready, but birds will be happy to eat them if you don’t!
4 Let it grow! Bees love weeds like dandelions, so let them grow instead of cutting them. If you have areas of grass around the school, ask if you can leave strips or small patches uncut until late summer. The grass will grow long but flowers like Dandelion and Clover will also grow and provide food for bees.
5 Provide some safe places for bumblebees or solitary bees to make their nests: a. If your school is in the countryside
you might have some hedgerows. Bumblebees love to make their nests in long grass at the bottom of hedgerows.b. Most solitary bees will burrow into banks of bare soil to make a little cosy nest. They like these banks to be south facing so the sun warms them up in the morning. You might have some areas around the school where you can scrape back some grass to create a bare bank
of soil.