Day 13

A home for 75 bees in the orchards of Germany

Combating bee mortality

New bee colonies for the orchards in Hesse

The Germans' favorite fruit is the apple. Unfortunately, we find fewer and fewer varieties of apples to buy on supermarket shelves. In orchards, on the other hand, there is a huge selection of fantastic apple varieties. Many of these varieties are easier for allergy sufferers to digest and much healthier than the typical varieties from the supermarket. Orchards are also a place of special biodiversity. The little owl, rare butterflies and many bee colonies find a safe home here. Bees are essential for maintaining the colorful diversity and their buzzing sweetens every beautiful spring day. Protecting orchards is therefore of central importance for bees in Germany.

need

Creation of natural areas as habitats for bees in Germany.

activity

Naturefund sets up beehives near the orchards.

Measurable performance

Number of bees that find a new home in the orchards.

Result

A large number of bees find a home in the orchards and contribute to the preservation of biodiversity.

Systemically relevant impact

The meadow orchards are a place of biodiversity. They are home to many old fruit varieties as well as insect species that are threatened.

background

Albert Einstein is said to have once said: "If the bee disappears from the earth, man will only have four years left to live." Long-term studies have already shown dramatic declines in the number of insects of up to 75%. The decline in insects is due to many environmental toxins and increasingly smaller refuges for the animals (Hallmann, 2017 and Sorg, 2013). In Germany in particular, only one crop is grown on huge areas. These agricultural fields shape our landscape. Natural meadows are becoming increasingly rare today.

But these natural meadows are particularly important for bees, butterflies and bumblebees. Colorful flowers, grasses and flowering trees are their food source. The animals only have enough food when different plants bloom at different times. In the orchards, bees find exactly this diversity in order to reproduce.

The good deed

In order to promote the rich bee and insect world in the orchards, Naturefund sets up beehives in the protected orchards for wild bees. This good deed directly supports the new bee colonies and gives them a new home. In addition, old fruit trees are cared for in the orchards, cleared of mistletoe and new fruit trees of old varieties are planted. The work is supported by volunteers who look after the fruit trees. The busy activity of the hard-working bees in the orchards is therefore a great benefit for biodiversity and for people.