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SuperValu, in collaboration with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan (AIPP), has launched its Save the Bees campaign.
The aim of the campaign is two-fold. Firstly, it aims to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators and to support biodiversity in communities nationwide.
Secondly, it is hoped it will help schools understand pollinators, as well as how they can protect pollinators and create an environment which is suitable for them to live in.
The Save the Bees campaign will focus mainly on educating primary school children.
SuperValu managing director Ian Allen explains why.
“Research shows that, if we engage young people in primary school, we can empower them to take informed conservation action which will stay with them for life and as such have a lasting impact for generations.”
The importance of the campaign
Worldwide, bee species have been in decline for a number of years. In an Irish context, 30% of bee species are threatened with extinction, based on the Irish Bee Red List. Red lists are internationally recognised and assess the conservation status of bee species.
The All-Ireland Bumblebee Monitoring Scheme has also recorded a 14.2% decline in bumblebees between 2012 and 2020.
This decline can be traced back to a loss of biodiversity due to human activity such as cutting, mowing and trimming of plants. This has a knock-on effect for bees, as it means loss of habitat and food.
The importance for biodiversity in saving our bees is therefore important.
Focusing on primary schools
As part of the campaign, a pollinator pack will be sent to the 3,241 primary schools around the country.
The pollinator pack was created in collaboration with the co-chair of the AIPP Dr Úna FitzPatrick. It contains guidebooks, posters and bookmarks with information on pollinators and biodiversity.
Pollinator-friendly seeds are also in the pack for children to plant their own garden in their school.
Competition
SuperValu is also hosting a competition for schools to win €50,000.
The pollinator pack contains a school collection poster and students need to collect 300 cards to complete the poster. With every €30 spent in SuperValu stores, shoppers will receive one card to add to the poster. Cards have bee jokes, pollinator plant images or pollinator facts on them.
The community, parents and teachers are encouraged to collect these cards for their local primary school.
After completing the collection poster, schools are added to a draw to win the money. Entries close on 12 May 2022 and the winners will be announced on the 20 May.
You can find out more about the campaign here or visit the AIPP website to learn more about pollinators.
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