‘Bee-less’ picnic pollinator fun at Dove Stone
The Bee-less picnic helped to demonstrate to children and adults how vital these creatures are to our food supply.
Pollinators were the focus of a recent summer holiday event for families visiting Dove Stone, as part of a project running in partnership between the UK’S leading baby food brand Ella’s Kitchen and the RSPB.
The Bee-less picnic helped to demonstrate to children and adults how vital these creatures are to our food supply. It included a display of a wide variety of foods that would vanish from our shelves without pollinators like bees, butterflies, ladybirds and even wasps.
A huge mix of fruits and vegetables rely on pollinators to reproduce or to produce a large enough crop to supply our needs. Without pollinators we’d not only lose these fresh ingredients but also all the products made from them.
Pollinators are at threat
Miriam Biran, Lead Project Officer, said: “Our vital pollinators are in trouble from threats such as habitat loss and pesticide use and our food supply is at risk as a result. It was fantastic to see how interested families were in learning about this in a fun way. We can all do our bit through simple actions like planting more flowers which pollinators rely on for food or leaving wild patches for pollinators to live in. This partnership with Ella’s Kitchen helps us to reach lots of families and encourage them to make great and local change.”
She added: “The variety of foods we have thanks to pollinators and what we would lose without them was surprising to visitors and helped spark discussions around the importance of helping and protecting wildlife. It was great to hear that visitors will pass on what they learnt to their friends and family.”
The event also gave children the chance to get creative making pollinator-themed noughts and crosses games, take part in a quiz about insects, go bug hunting, and plant native wildflowers as a pledge to help bees and other insects. These activities were led by forest school leader and outdoor wellbeing provider, Sarah Branson, through additional support from Ella’s Kitchen.
Chris Jenkins, Head of Impact at Ella’s Kitchen, said: “ We believe children deserve to grow up on a healthy planet that has plenty of food and is buzzing with life. We know that the more time little ones spend on connecting with nature, the more likely they are to grow up loving it, and wanting to protect it.”
He added: “We’re incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with the RSPB, and initiatives like this that show our shared vision to champion and inspire a love of nature in little ones.” The aim of the national RSPB and Ella’s Kitchen partnership is to raise awareness of the threats to our pollinators and restore 30 million square feet of wildflower meadow across the UK by 2030, so future generations can continue to enjoy nature. Dove Stone, in the Peak District National Park, a site owned by United Utilities and managed in partnership with the RSPB, will be home to five million of this– roughly the size of 65 football pitches.