Hello everyone! In this week’s blog post you will learn why bees are so important to the environment and ways you can help protect them.
Aaron Burden via Unsplash
How Bees Help Us
Bees pollinate an estimated 33% of crops, contributing over $15 billion to US crop production. Without bees, we would have a heavy shortage of apples, onions, blueberries, carrots, and cucumbers, according to Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder, Renee Johnson, Congressional Research Service 2010.
But there are ways you can help! Here are 3 ways you can help bees from home:
Create a bee garden.
First, decide where you want your bee garden and how much space you have.
Next, choose plants accordingly. Bees really like lavender, thyme, sunflowers, marigolds, and goldenrod. These can be purchased at your local nursery or started from seed.
Then, get gardening and watch for bees!
Make a bee bath.
Another way you can help bees is by making a bee bath. Grab a birdbath or shallow bowl and fill it with stones, just until the stones go above the rim. Then fill it with clean water and watch the bees relax on the stones!
Donate to organizations, habitat conservations, and local beekeepers.
Instead of purchasing honey from the grocery store, try purchasing raw honey from a local beekeeper. You can also donate to conservations and organizations that are working to protect bees.
Why Honey is Good For Us
Honey is known to soothe sore throats, but what else can it do? Honey is loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help to protect the body from cell damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are oxygen molecules in the body caused by external factors like smoking, pollution, and sunlight. Honey helps balance bacteria on your skin, making it useful for people that have acne, and it is also a gentle exfoliator.