Apiculture New Zealand is excited to be a part of the first annual World Bee Day, which will take place on 20 May 2018.
The United Nations declared the date as World Bee Day in December 2017, after years of campaigning by the Republic of Slovenia, with support from Apimondia, the international federation of beekeepers’ associations. The day aims to raise public awareness of the importance of bees and provide collective support to protect the species.
Bees play an important role for our planet as pollinators to provide food, food security and nutrition, sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, climate change mitigation and a healthy environment.
Fortunately, New Zealand has a thriving bee population, but along with the rest of the world, our bees face an increasing number of threats which put the species at risk, so we cannot afford to be complacent about our bees’ health.
World Bee Day occurs at the end of May, which is when New Zealand hives will be wintering down in preparation for the colder months. Nevertheless, Apiculture New Zealand is keen to acknowledge the day and raise awareness about the critical role of New Zealand’s honey bees in our communities and economy, and the ongoing need to protect their health.
Apiculture New Zealand has created a social media campaign to raise awareness for World Bee Day, as well as adding a ‘Resources’ page to our website to teach beekeepers, landowners and the general public about threats to bees, how they can help bees and play their part in protecting bee health.
We will continue to raise awareness about the role of bees over the year with a special celebration of all things bees during Bee Aware Month in September.
For more information about World Bee Day, visit the official website: www.worldbeeday.org/en/.