pesticides

Following on from my last post, here is a link to the Bbc.co.uk site report on the Bee March. I thought you might like to see it and hear what the representatives were saying. Please tell me if the link doesn’t work. I think you should be able to watch the short videos on the news over here in England but I would like to know if you can’t.

I hope that the march was successful. I’ll hear more in the future.

How are the bees doing in your neck of the woods?

ps: in the picture today, you can see a bee on a teasel plant. I grow these in my cottage garden mainly for the bees because they love it, but also for the greenfinches, chaffinches and goldfinches who come in the winter and love the seeds.

Oma

I don’t usually post on campaigns etc. I’m not a militant person, but this one is important. There are problems with our bees not only here in England, but in other parts of the world too. Without bees we are lost, it’s as simple as that. Lots of research has been done and I’m not going into that here, but I wanted to ask you to sign the petition as outlined in the following message from 38 degrees. It is going to be put into No. 10 Downing Street this week and it is asking the government to ban the use of pesticides, which are having a detrimental effect on our wildlife.

There is also a march on Friday, but I can’t go to that. I am looking after my grandson. I will be there in spirit. If you aren’t doing anything on Friday and you feel so inclined, please go for me and for the bees.

Dear Stella,With just 6 days to go before the big European vote on bee killer pesticides, there’s been some breaking news.

Bulgaria had been lining up alongside the UK to block a ban on these pesticides. But yesterday, after beekeepers from across the nation marched through the capital, Bulgaria’s minister for agriculture, Ivan Stankov, changed his mind. Bulgaria will now vote for a ban. [1]

We need Owen Paterson, our own environment minister, to follow suit.

So, this Friday 38 Degrees is teaming up with a whole host of other organisations to march on parliament and stage our very own March of the Beekeepers. [2]

Can you come along to the demonstration?

38 Degrees members will be meeting at:
10:30am this Friday 26th April
The statue of Churchill in Parliament Square, London.

You don’t have to be a beekeeper! You can come dressed as one, or as a bee or just come as yourself: bring fruit, flowers, friends and big smiles.

We’re joining forces with Avaaz, Buglife, Environmental Justice Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Pesticide Action Network UK, RSPB, and the Soil Association to show the environment minister how important the protection of our bees is to us.

Are you able to come along on Friday? Obviously not everyone will be able to make it. A small group of 38 Degrees members will be delivering the 250,000-strong petition – which includes your signature – direct to Owen Paterson tomorrow. So you will be there in spirit either way. Together we’ll keep up the pressure.

Thanks for being involved,

Megan, Robin, Maddy & the 38 Degrees team

PS: Sharing is caring:
Facebook: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/bees-facebook
Twitter: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/bees-twitter

PPS: Can you make it on Friday, or know others who might be able to? Join and share the event on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/events/189927744489383/

NOTES:
[1] Novinite: Bulgaria to back EU Moratorium on Bee-Harming Neonicotinoids:
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=149773
[2] Environmental Justice Foundation: March of the Beekeepers:
http://ejfoundation.org/bees/march_of_the_beekeepers