To save the bees, 'bee-friendly' habitats are created in communities, focusing on soil conservation and planting wildflowers.
Soil is an essential habitat for wild bee species. As ecological diversity reduces, so too will the regional bee population and overall quality of life in the area. Communities can make a significant contribution to bee and soil conservation, and that's where this project comes in: Bee-Friendly Communities abandon the use of synthetic chemical pesticides on public green spaces, plant a bee-friendly environment, and invite people to turn their gardens into small oases for insects. Communities take the initiative as role models, mediators, and awareness-makers – playing a key role locally.
NATIVE, BEE-FRIENDLY PLANTS AND BERRY BUSHES
Already, 17 Municipalities in Upper Austria have committed themselves to the project Our Soil for Bees, as Bee-Friendly Communities working with the Soil Alliance Upper Austria. More than 10,000 m² of wildflower bee pastures have been created, over 13 hectares of meadows have been converted into community property, and numerous berry bushes have been planted. Concrete proposals are made to help communities bloom with more native, bee-friendly plants. Implementation workshops put together a package of measures to be implemented over the next three years. The project also involves exchanging good practices with other communities.
THE PROJECT GATHERS A VARIETY OF ACTORS
The setting-up project workshops brought together community actors, farmers, beekeepers, representatives from schools, kindergartens or associations, and interested citizens to discuss and develop possible measures and project ideas. In one Municipality, representatives from the community, beekeepers, the school, hunters, and farmers gathered at an implementation workshop. In this way, every citizen can make a contribution to bee protection. The Bee-Friendly Communities are role models in the drive for greater diversity and show that without environmental toxins important steps towards sustainability and the preservation of livelihoods for the next generations can be made – because soils and bees mean life! It is not only about the bees, but about insects, butterflies, songbirds, and the preservation of diversity and livelihoods. The 17 Bee-Friendly Communities are pilot communities, now many more want to learn from their experiences and actions.