Charities 41
PROMOTIONAL CONTENT
Making sustainability more than just a buzzword Bees are among the most loved and familiar garden insects — and play a crucial role in our ecosystem Plant for pollinators
The sight and sound of them moving from flower to flower is a quintessential part of British summertime but sadly these • charismatic creatures are struggling to survive. In our modern world of paved gardens and intensive • agriculture, our bumblebees fi nd themselves hungry and homeless.
Grow more nectar-rich flowers, shrubs, and trees to provide for pollinators throughout the year.
•
Let your garden grow wild
•
Put away the pesticide
Why are bees important?
1 ‘The Ocean as a Solution to Climate Change: Five Opportunities for Action (World Resources Institute, 2019) 2 Historical Analysis Exposes Catastrophic Seagrass Loss for the United Kingdom by Alix E. Green. 3 UK Marine Protected Area network statistics (Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 2021)4 Marine Conservation Society calculations. 5 Breaking the Plastic Wave: a comprehensive assessment of pathways towards stopping ocean plastic pollution (The Pew Charitable Trusts and systemiq, 2020)
The Bumblebee Conservation• Trust’s expert conservation teamwork supports bumblebee-friendly habitats, raising awareness and gathers scientific evidence about bumblebee populations, to safeguard the future of these iconic insects and vital pollinators. According to the charity, in the last 80 years, our bumblebee populations have crashed. Two species have become nationally extinct, and several others have declined dramatically. Bees are pollinators and play a critical role in healthy ecosystems, so are essential for our food production. Pollinators are worth a staggering £690 million per annum to the UK economy, and more than three-quarters of the world’s food crops are in part dependent on them.
How can you help? Most of us tend to think of bees in relation to pollination, yet insect pollinators are an incredibly diverse group. Honeybees are mostly kept in managed hives and are likely responsible for pollinating between 5 to 15% of the UK’s insect-pollinated crops. That leaves 85 to 95% of the UK’s insect-pollinated crops relying on wild pollinators. Many species of
bee, moth, butterfly, hoverfly, fly and beetle provide an essential service in the UK (and globally) pollinating £690 million worth of crops annually. Taking over this job ourselves would be difficult and time-consuming and would cost us an estimated £1.8 billion every year. But there are ways you can help to encourage populations to thrive in the UK once again, according to The Wildlife Trust.
Leaving patches of land to grow wild let wildflowers grow and make great nesting and feeding sites.
They can harm pollinators and many other beneficial invertebrates. Consider alternatives and only use pesticides as a last resort.
Leave the lawnmower
In the spotlight
Cut your grass less often and remove cuttings to let plants flower.
Environmental Justice Foundation
Is buying honey an issue?
The climate crisis is an existential threat to humanity. Nations with the greatest responsibility for greenhouse gases must contribute fairly, achieving zero carbon by 2035. Decisive action is not a ‘cost’, but an investment, not just in the future, but in survival. Visit ejfoundation.org for more.
Done right, bee farming can be beneficial for wild populations and still allow you to enjoy honey. When choosing honey try to go for something local, from individual beekeepers who practice sustainability. This way you know where your honey is coming from and can cut down on the carbon emissions used to ship honey to your local supermarket.
by Laura Forsyth
Fight for the future of the ocean The ocean is at a tipping point – will you join The Marine Conservation Society and fight for its future? The importance of the planet’s ocean cannot be overstated. The ocean covers over 70% of the planet. The ocean provides more than half the oxygen in the atmosphere and absorbs nearly a third of the carbon emissions1 . The ocean provides numerous benefits and is key to helping regulate the climate, through absorbing huge amounts of heat from the sun. Not to mention, the ocean transports heat from the equator to the poles,
precious habitats are being destroyed, often home to the planet’s most endangered species regulating the Earth’s climate and weather patterns. But today, the ocean is in crisis. Right now, waters are being polluted and precious habitats are being destroyed, often home to the planet’s most endangered species. Humanity is harming the wonderful wildlife that call the ocean home and reducing
the ocean’s ability to help fight the climate crisis. The statistics bring home just how precarious the situation is. The UK has lost up to 92% of its seagrass in the last century2 . A third of UK seas are protected on paper but less than 1% of seas are in well-managed marine protected areas 3, with only 5% of the UK’s marine protected areas safe from bottom trawling.4 Every year between 9 to 14 million tonnes of plastics enter the ocean. 5 But through working together, this damage can be reversed. Working with communities, businesses, governments, and people just like you, the Marine Conservation Society is fighting for cleaner, healthier, and better protected seas. By joining the Marine Conservation Society as a member, you can help too. Wondering how you can help join this process for change? There are numerous ways to get involved and fight for the future of the ocean. Through campaigning, donating, or volunteering you’ll join a movement of people all over the country, eager to see change. Please join The Marine Conservation Society today and help them fight for the future of the ocean.
Find out more Please join the Marine Conservation Society today and help them fight for the future of the ocean. Visit mcsuk.org/join to fi nd out more.
checklists.co.uk
@checklistsocial
