Go Greener

Go Greener

Making your vote count on climate at the next election

The latest IPPC report has stated that we are at a critical time in our climate crisis. Recent results from the ABC’s vote compass showed the most pressing issue for voters was climate change.

Did you want to make your vote count in shaping how Australia will deals with Climate Change? Are you informed enough to know which candidate in your electorate will address your concerns?

1 million women are hosting a free one-hour webinar on Friday 13 May at 1.00pm called How to vote for climate action. Natalie Issacs is interviewing Professor Lesley Hughes (a leading climate scientist from Macquarie University) and Dr Rebecca Huntly (author of How to talk about climate change in a way that makes a difference). Among other things they will talk about how to find a candidate who will honestly represent you and the fight for climate change. Parents and friends can find out more information about this event and register for the zoom session at this link.

 

World Bee Day

May 20 is designated as World Bee Day. Bees are amazing insects and handle pollinating up to 60% of all world food crops. A European bumblebee can fly a maximum distance of five kilometres while Australian native bees have a shorter flight range of about 500 metres. Native bees do most of the heavy lifting in pollinating plants.

Below are some tips on how you can help bees to thrive in your garden:

  • Protect pollinators by not using harmful pesticides
  • Bees have good colour vision. Plant flowers which are blue, purple, violet, white and yellow. It is a helpful to plant a clump of the same colour flowers to create a bull’s eye effect for the bees to notice.
  • Choose a variety of plants that flower at various times of the year. Generally native bees go to native plants while exotic plants attract honeybees.
  • Let vegetables in your garden go to seed for the bees to feed on.
  • Mow your lawns in the afternoon so bees have time to feed and go back home.
  • Offer a shallow source of water for bees to drink from. A saucer with a few rocks in it is perfect for bees to land and drink.
  • Make a bee hotel for native solitary bees such as the blue banded bee, teddy bear bee or the carpenter bee.

If you would like to be inspired, the Historic Royal Palaces are planting over 20 million seeds from 29 flower species in the moat of the Tower of London for the Platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. This is being called a super bloom and there will be waves of orange, blue and yellow flowers from July to September. 

Alternatively, you might like to join a free Zoom nature journaling workshop to draw native bees on Saturday May 14 from 10.00pm to 11.30 pm in celebration of World Bee Day.

So, this World Bee Day do your bit for these important pollinators.

Sue Zipfinger
Sustainability Co-ordinator