Climate change threatens bees and UK apples

This warning came from Professor Simon Potts of the University of Reading, at Friends of the Earth’s national Bee Summit.

As certain bee species move north, said Professor Potts, there could be only a small area of the UK where apple orchards overlap with the bees they need for pollination. 

And with a changing climate the apple trees could be in blossom at a different time to when the bees are active. Find out about easy ways to help bees.

Threats to bees in Europe

In Europe a quarter (26%) of bumblebees are threatened with extinction, with climate change being one of the main factors, according to Prof Potts.

Climate change was a key theme at the summit on 9 November, organised by Friends of the Earth and The Women’s Institute to mark the first anniversary of the Government's National Pollinator Strategy for England.

Other speakers included Dr Geraldine Wright of Newcastle University, who presented the most recent scientific evidence of the harm to bees and other pollinators from neonicotinoid pesticides. 

Several studies have been published over the past year of the effect of these pesticides on bees. 

These pesticides are now found in wildflowers that have been planted next to crops with the intention of helping bees, not harming them.

Government must do more to help bees

A recent report from The Bee Coalition criticised the Government's weak action to protect pollinators since it published the National Pollinator Strategy for England. 

The report points to the need to:

• improve monitoring of bee numbers
• support better farming
• cut pesticide use  
• restore high-quality, connected bee habitats.

The need for government-led improvements was repeated by key speakers at the summit.

Councils and locals helping bees

In contrast a lot is being done at a local level to help bees, with councils doing their bit as well as individuals.  

At the summit Victoria Harvey, from South Bedfordshire Friends of the Earth, talked about the difference ambitious individuals can make - in this case creating wildflower-rich spaces for bees in urban areas. 

Crucial to their success is working with local businesses, schools, and the town council, as well as enthusing the community.

In Lincolnshire the Wildlife Trust is working with teenagers,  farmers and town planners to create "biodiversity superhighways" -  connected areas of habitat such as road verges and new wildflower meadows.

The planting in Lincolnshire has been planned to ensure that nectar-rich plants are continuously available to bees during the time they are active.

Meanwhile the charity Buglife is working on a nationwide network of bee habitats called B-Lines.

About bees and farming 

Waitrose reported that its rapeseed oil is being successfully produced in Hampshire – on the company's farm at Leckford Estate – without the need of bee-harming neonicotinoids. Waitrose's Quentin Clark gave George Eustice MP a bottle as a present.

If farmers put the right measures in they can boost wildlife and see a profit on their farm, the RSPB reported. 

At the RSPB's Hope Farm in Cambridgeshire measures to help wildlife on the farm have boosted birds by 174% since 2000 and butterflies by 160% since 2001. 

These impressive results are in stark contrast to the national figures which show farmland birds and butterflies in continued decline.

A lot of public money goes into supporting farmers to help nature through agri-environment schemes.

But as Matt Shardlow of Buglife reported, agri-environment schemes are not doing enough to transform our damaged countryside.   

We’ve lost 3,000,000 hectares of wildflower-rich grassland since the Second World War. Agri-environment schemes have only recreated 0.3% of these meadows.

Protecting bees is in the public interest

A key message from Craig Bennett, Friends of the Earth's Chief Executive, was that acting for bees is in the public interest.

The creation of parks in our towns and cities is rooted in concerns for public health, we were reminded by Ian Phillips of the Landscape Institute. 

Now green infrastructure – from green roofs in the city to wildflower strips on farmland – is linked to a whole range of benefits including climate mitigation and flood prevention.   

Ian’s vision of green infrastructure in every new development is one that we should be aiming for – and which government needs to facilitate through planning policy. As Craig Bennett suggests, this will be of great public benefit.

In Wales, for example, Torfaen residents reported increased wellbeing after their council created wildflower meadows and roadside corridors in part of the Welsh valleys. 

And in Bedfordshire local children with no garden now have access to nature through local planting.         

Praise for Friends of the Earth and WI

Farming Minister George Eustice MP paid tribute to Friends of the Earth and the Women’s Institute (WI) for their practical action to save bees and raise awareness. 

"As the WI enters the next 100 years, we are not prepared to see bees and fellow pollinators decline," said Ann Jones, chair of the WI in Wales.

Friends of the Earth and the WI will keep encouraging more individuals, communities and companies to act to help bees. 

But as Craig Bennett said:

The government can’t simply point to the great actions being taken by others, while failing to act themselves

The Bee Summit showcased the best examples of bee-saving schemes but everyone can do their bit.