So, here we are in the middle of Bee season, the time of year that bees need to make a head start in their honey making. This is vital to the survival of these delicate species - sunny weather, a lot less rain, warm enough and plenty of flowers, trees and plants to forage for food.

One thing that I have noticed a lot more of is that we are putting in gardens in our backyards as well as creating allotments and other green spaces. If you would not ordinarily plant herbs, do it this year - for the bees. You will also gain benefits from a crop of fresh herbs growing close by as well.

Many herbs are a great source of vitamins and minerals and can be added to your diet easily in salads and raw foods as well as cooking (soups and stews are great). When you place them strategically around the garden in with other plants and vegetables they will act as natural repellents to other pests that might eat your plants.

Attracting bees to your garden is a pleasure - just listen to the humm and buzz of life as they go about their work. Work that is vital, endless and necessary to the health of our planet. 

Recently it has been confirmed that some of the loss of bees (and perhaps colony collapse disorder) can be attributed to a class of insecticides used on crops. These are collectively known as neonicotinoid insecticides and are from the nicotine chemical known to act on the nervous system of insects. 

If what we know about the world around us linked to the world inside of us  - what on earth are these chemicals doing to us and our nervous systems? The bees are dying inside and out. Everything is important and perhaps none more important for humans than honey bees. 

There appears to be little to no incentive for the Big Food producers to stop using these deadly chemicals and we are doing little to push them in that direction. It seems that everyone dances to the tune of Big Seeds and Big Chemicals (there is even a rumour that they have bought up the research firm looking into this link with bees). 

Like the line from Bee Movie -' bees don't smoke' - so stop using these tobacco poisons, you are killing us all!

April