- Multi-Disciplinary Greens Services Company
- B-BBEE Level 1
Bidvest Top Turf celebrates World Environment Day
This year, the World Environment Day 2020 (WED2020) will be celebrated internationally on Friday 5 June 2020 and the theme will be focussing on “Biodiversity”. WED2020 is widely celebrated in more than 143 countries around the planet. It is popularly being called “People’s Day” to show their care and support for the Earth and their Environment.
At Bidvest Top Turf, we are ever mindful of the fact that Planet Earth is a finite resource, which has to be responsibly managed in order to sustain itself into the future. As such, we encourage our clients to think creatively and sustainably in the development and maintenance of their green spaces.
SO WHY IS BIODIVERSITY IMPORTANT?
Nature’s gifts to our planet are the millions of species that we know and love, and many more that remain to be discovered. Unfortunately, human beings have irrevocably upset the balance of nature and, as a result, the world is facing the greatest rate of extinction since we lost the dinosaurs more than 60 million years ago. However, unlike the fate of the dinosaurs, the rapid extinction of species in our world today is the result of human activity.
All living things have an intrinsic value, and each plays a unique role in the complex web of life. We must work together to protect endangered and threatened species such as bees, coral reefs, elephants, giraffes, insects, whales and more.
One way to encourage biodiversity is to attract pollinators and choose a wider variety of plants in our gardens.
5 TIPS TO CREATE A MODERN POLLINATOR GARDEN:
- 1) Plant large groupings of flowering plants. Flowers help feed bees and create a calming space for people. Group three to five plant species to optimize pollen stability. Bees and butterflies prefer plant groupings that are at least 1 meter by 1 meter.
- 2) Plant flowers that benefit bees and people. Bees love nectar-producing flowers, such as Scabiosa, Lavender, Echinacea and Jasmine. In addition to providing nectar and pollen for pollinators, these particular flowers hold benefit to people as well.
- 3) Choose diverse plants for pollinator food and a pleasing design. Bees and other pollinators need protein-rich pollen and sugar-rich nectar to survive. Differently shaped flowers feed different types of insects, thus stimulating biodiversity, so allowing for a variety of plants in your garden is important. South Africa is fortunate to have a wide variety of indigenous plant species to choose from, so in order to increase the biodiversity in your garden, try to opt for indigenous plant choices.
- 4) Allow plants for year-round food for bees and year-round beauty for your home. Bee gardens should provide food all year, not just at the height of spring and summer. Although honeybees can store large amounts of honey and pollen as food to sustain them through the winter, other bees and pollinators, like ladybugs and butterflies, can’t.
- 5) Create a water feature where pollinators can drink and guests can relax. Water features are beautiful focal points for contemporary gardens. Water is also important for bees, since they need both food and water to survive. Bees do not store water, but collect it as needed to cool down the hive, create humidity for the colony, dissolve sugar crystals in honey for food, feed babies and help digest food. The best type of water feature for a modern pollinator garden has fresh water, places for bees to get near but not drown in water (like grass or rocks), and shallow and wide water sources.
To create more awareness around WED202, why not take a quick quiz to test your knowledge: https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/did-you-know/take-quiz
Sources:
https://www.motherearthliving.com/gardening/create-a-modern-pollinator-garden-zbhz1706aeva