Save our Bees

Blackthorn in flower

Save Our Bees – Starting in your Garden
Our bees and other pollinating insects are in trouble. The good news is that you can help by making your garden pollinator friendly. Every garden, no matter its size, can be a haven for hungry pollinators.
Irish pollinators are in decline, with one third of our 98 bee species threatened with extinction, due to habitat loss, declines in wildflowers and the use of herbicides.

Courtesy National Biodiversity Data Centre

If you grow strawberries, raspberries, beans, courgettes, or tomatoes you’ll know first-hand how important it is that pollinators visit your garden. Without enough bees visiting the flowers, you see reduced yields of misshapen fruit and vegetables

3 Easy Steps to Help Pollinators in your Garden
1. Plant some bee friendly plants.
2. Cut your lawn less often to allow wildflowers like dandelions and clovers to grow.
3. Use less pesticides which are harmful to pollinators.

There are easy to use guidelines, by the National Biodiversity Data Centre, to help you make your garden “gold standard” for pollinators.

Pollinator Friendly Plants provide food for bees

Ivy, Hawthorn, Hazel, Comfrey, Lungwort, Lavender, Foxglove, Allium, Grape Hyacinths, Verbena, Snowdrops, Single Flowered Dahlias and Dandelions are just a few of a long list of pollinator friendly plants/flowers/hedges. To get the full list go to http://pollinators.ie/app/uploads/2018/04/Gardens_actions-to-help-pollinators-2018-WEB.pdf

Remember Your garden can remain colourful and be pollinator friendly by selecting trees, shrubs and perennials that are good sources of pollen and nectar for bees.

Kilkenny County Council recently adopted the National Pollinator Plan 2015-2020. For further advice and information on pollinators please contact Dearbhala Ledwidge, Heritage Officer, Kilkenny County Council. Tel. No. 056 7794925 or email dearbhala.ledwidge@kilkennycoco.ie or heritage@kilkennycoco.ie

This action is supported under the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2017-2021 by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.