8 Simple Ways You Can Help Protect Bees and Support Pollinator Health – By Ajmal Sohail Stanikzai
Individuals can take several meaningful actions to protect bees and support pollinator health:
- Plant bee-friendly gardens: Grow a variety of nectar-rich native plants, herbs, and flowers that bloom at different times of the year. Bees especially love lavender, rosemary, thyme, borage, and native wildflowers.
- Avoid pesticides and herbicides: Especially neonicotinoids and glyphosate, which harm bees. Use organic or natural pest control methods instead.
- Provide fresh water: A shallow dish with stones or floating corks gives bees a safe place to land and drink.
- Support organic and local farmers: Organic farming avoids harmful chemicals, and local produce reduces the carbon footprint and supports bee-friendly agriculture.
- Leave some wild spaces: Let parts of your yard grow a little wild or create a bee hotel with drilled logs or bundles of bamboo to support solitary native bees.
- Educate others: Spread awareness about the importance of bees and the threats they face from habitat loss, chemicals, and climate change.
- Buy honey from ethical beekeepers: Support beekeepers who prioritize bee health over maximum production.
- Lobby for change: Support policies that ban bee-harming pesticides and promote biodiversity and regenerative farming.
