Date: 20 May 2025
Donegal is buzzin’ for World Bee Day
World Bee Day, 20th May, is an annual celebration of bees: important pollinators who need our help! And it falls in the middle of Biodiversity Week, an annual festival designed to help people get closer to nature.
We have been busy bees so far hosting Bee a Biodiversity Explorer at the Glenveagh National Park Biodiversity Festival, meeting with and discussing the bee’s needs with the Three Rivers Beekeepers, checking out some of our wonderful ‘No Mow’ meadow areas in Ballyshannon and still to come this Saturday is an introduction to pollinator ID with renowned entomologist, Stuart Dunlop in partnership with Buncrana Community Library.
On the island of Ireland, insects pollinate more than three quarters of our wild plants, providing food and shelter for birds and mammals and contributing to healthy ecosystems. They are also responsible for healthy yields of many crops, fruits, and vegetables including apples, berries, tomatoes, and pumpkins. Pollinators are hugely important for safeguarding biodiversity, our food supply, and many industries connected to it.
But 1/3 of our wild bees (bumblebees and solitary bees) are in decline, however there are simple ways to help them like mowing less to encourage native wildflowers. So this year Donegal County Council have gone wild about meadows and have expanded our ‘No Mow’ areas to allow native plants, wildflowers and grasses to flower, benefiting pollinators and biodiversity.
Why not support ‘Don’t Mow May’ and help your local bumblebees by leaving a small patch of your lawn to flower and see what pops up.
All details of DCC Biodiversity week events can be found on www.donegalculture.ie/biodiversity and for more across Donegal and Ireland, check out www.biodiversityweek.ie
Also visit www.pollinators.ie for more inspiration to celebrate World Bee Day.
