Six-year-old Ruby the Climate Kid wants you to help her save the bees, which are in danger of dying out!
I MAY BE ONLY SIX, but when I was little, I was a bit frightened of bees and even got stung once — until I learnt what they do for us and how important they are for our survival and for the environment to thrive.
I am very upset to tell you that for the first time in human recorded history, bees have been placed on the endangered list, which means that they are at risk of becoming extinct if we do not act to protect them.
This is something scientists all around the world are talking about, because bees are essential to human life as there are so many of us that need food and the volume of food we need is only made possible because of bees.
Bees, like many other living creatures, are greatly affected by pollution and our government needs to start listening to scientists and take action.
Bees are incredible. They pollinate a plant’s flower, which then becomes a fruit of vegetable for us to eat and, at the same time as this, they are also collecting pollen to take back to their hives to make honey — another delicious and nutritious treat we have to eat because of bees.
Bees have been dying in their millions because, in addition to the pollution that we are causing in the atmosphere, making all living things suffer, we are also using pesticides which contain neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids are nicotine-like pesticides that attack the central nervous system of insects and are commonly used to protect seed stocks and kill unwanted foliage-eating bugs like aphids and beetles.
When these chemicals are used and they affect bees, it leads to many bees getting confused and lost and abandoning their hive, and having their hive starve and die out, which means, crops and plants are not going to be pollinated. That means there will be a worldwide food shortage if we do not act to protect bees.
In Australia, there is a common household garden spray to get rid of "pests" called "Confidor", but this spray contains neonicotinoids which are harmful to bees. I wrote to the manufacturer of this product, Yates, telling them how I am very concerned at the chemicals in this product and asked them to change it.
I received a reply that disagreed with the majority of scientists and told me they consider the risk minimal.
I don’t think that there is minimal risk because bees are on the endangered list. The risk of losing our bees outweighs the convenience of using chemicals and is more important than making money.
We must act now to help save the bees and we can all do something about it:
- plant more flowering plants;
- provide safe havens for bees; and
- ask our environmental authorities to ban any pesticides that contain neonicotinoids.
I am creating bee loving flowering seed packs that I would love to send to people, so please email me via IA to receive your free seeds that you can plant and create a little bee haven.
Bees are essential to our survival and that of countless other animals in the wild. We need to save bees and it means we all need to work together.
I am showcasing how much I love bees by creating beeswax wraps that are be available in the IA Shop for you to purchase. These wraps are a great alternative to using plastic cling film and is a natural antibacterial.
Buy Ruby @TheClimateKid's beeswax wraps and help save the planet! A natural alternative to cling wrap! https://t.co/4BldbbM6sA Free postage!
— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) January 30, 2017
Take action now, with me.
Remember to be kind to bees, because we need them.
Follow Ruby the Climate Kid on YouTube and Facebook, as well as on Twitter @theclimatekid. Ruby is also selling beeswrap wraps, snack bags and tote bags in the Independent Australia shop.
Check out NEW Ruby @theclimatekid Snack Bag Sets in the IA store! https://t.co/FDFUcf4a57
— IndependentAustralia (@independentaus) January 31, 2017
(FREE POSTAGE*)
Check out NEW Ruby @theclimatekid Tote bags in the IA store! https://t.co/pZTEJMOZqd
— IndependentAustralia (@independentaus) January 31, 2017
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
My article on worldwide bee problem:Australia's complacency in the face of worldwide bee decline https://t.co/tEeyYpFOtZ @IndependentAus
— Michelle Pini (@vmp9) August 2, 2015
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EPA confirms activists' longtime claims: Neonicotinoid pesticide threatens honeybees https://t.co/bOFU6fQHiv @IndependentAus
— Sandi Keane (@Jarrapin) January 11, 2016
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