Create a buzz for the Bees with a Bee Hotel

May 20th is #nationalbeeday so what better than to create a Bee Hotel and let youngster's know more about bees and why they are so important?

This year, National Bee Day is all about encouraging youngsters to get involved in saving bees and encouraging them to prosper.   Bees are essential pollinators  - they pollinate three-quarters of the leading global crops including oilseed rape, apples, soft fruit beans and strawberries. 

Bees are vital for balancing between living organisms and their environment – it is also thought they help reduce pollution too.   Science has shown that they are becoming increasingly endangered - the UN said 1M species face extinction (2015).    

How can we save the Bees?

 Plant bee-friendly plants like heather, daisies and red clover in your gardens. Leave sections of gardens to go wild and let grasses grow to provide shelter. The Woodland Trust says without bees it would cost UK farmers 1.8Billion to pollinate their crops  and farmers in the UK would need to spend an extra £12.8M if the bees were not doing such a good job.

Did you know that 97% of wildflower meadows have been lost since 1930's? 

Did you know there are  250+ native bees and of these,  24 are Bumble Bees?

You can help improve the environment for bees by:

• Make sure there  is a small dish of shallow water  - they get thirsty
•  Don’t use pesticides
• Create wild grassy spaces in your garden
• Plant flowers that need pollination
• Build a Bee Hotel

HOW TO BUILD A BEE HOTEL

 You can buy bee houses but we think it is great to make your own. You could buy some bee tubes to fit in a frame, or you could just use some bamboo canes, and dead hollow plants and stems. 

You can also cut your various tubes to 15cm lengths, and drill deep holes of varying sizes (between 2-6mm diameter) into blocks of wood and logs - around 15cm deep and at an angle is best.

You can make something very professional using planks of wood for the sides and all sorts of tubes and grasses inside, or you could go out and buy a ready-made box if you don't have the time. 

When it is ready, make sure it is attached to the wall or fence at around chest height. The best time to do this is later in spring - just before the bees are buzzing about to look for new nests.

You can also read more on how to build a Bee Hotel on this link:   The RSPB Build a bee hotel  

 If you  want the kids to find out what kind of bee they are- they could take the CBBC's quiz: follow this CBBC link