Producing honey and wax and pollinating flowers at the same time: That would probably have been the answer many people would have given a few years ago if they had been asked about the benefits of bees. The referendum “Save the Bees” launched in Bavaria in 2019 heralded a new era with over 1.7 million votes. Since then, awareness of the importance of bees for flora and fauna has grown steadily. After all, they are the third most important livestock in Germany, behind pigs and cattle. There are over 1000 beekeepers in the greater Munich area who make an important contribution to making Munich and the surrounding area green and rich in species. But each individual can also do something for the bees, whether through a beekeeping course for beginners, membership in a club, or planting balconies and gardens in a bee-friendly way. Here are some suggestions.
Your own garden as a home for bees
The fewer bee species there are, the emptier the supermarket shelves will eventually become. For example, the animals feel at home here in the bee mating station at the Sauschütt in the Ebersberg Forest. The specimen marked in blue is the queen.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
While the honey bees have a lobby with the beekeepers and are now increasingly finding a home in private gardens, the wild bees in densely built-up and plowed Germany are increasingly lacking in feeding and nesting places. The cities where most people live would be a good home for the animals. Wild bees have a fairly small radius of movement, which is why the large-scale monocultures on land often become a deadly obstacle for them. In the cities, on the other hand, the little animals can easily commute from garden to garden and pollinate the plants for which they are responsible – if they can find them. And this is exactly where city dwellers can do their bit for biodiversity: if you design your garden or balcony to be bee-friendly, you help the animals to get their vital food. Not only them, but also the people, because: The 100 most important crops are mostly pollinated by bees and together provide 90 percent of the global food supply. Many plant species are only pollinated by wild bees. So the fewer bee species there are, the emptier the food shelves in supermarkets become.
So if you want to do something good for the wild flyers, there are countless sources of knowledge available. For example, the website of “Stadtbienen”, a “beekeeping network” that, in addition to beekeeping courses, also free tips and tricks provides. It’s about the right choice of plants and the big “do’s” and “don’ts” of wild bee-friendly garden care. If you want to deepen your knowledge even further, you will definitely go to the book list from “Bayern buzzes!” find it.
Info below www.stadtbienen.org or www.bayern.deutschland-summt.de
On the trail of the wild bee
On the trail of wild bees: the Swarmlab nature trail in the north of the English Garden.
(Photo: Moritz Lohmann)
Bees and QR codes – what do they have to do with each other? The simple answer: Both can be found on the approximately three-kilometer route Wild bee nature trail in the north of the English Garden. The younger generations in particular should be picked up by scanning the QR codes. At the eight different stations, visitors can learn more about wild bees and their way of life: Some of the wild bee species presented have even found their permanent home in the large park.
If you are more of a fan of analog knowledge transfer, you will find another wonderful one in the community of Haar, directly on the eastern outskirts of Munich Educational trail about wild bees and nutrient-poor grassland. The extraordinary tour takes hikers past six locations that present information boards on the animal and plant world.
Info below www.swarmlab.eu and www.gemeinde-haar.de
Beekeepers – watch or participate
Beekeeping is in: Bees have also found a home on the roof of the Pasing Arcaden.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
You can only get even closer to the little buggers if you decide to take a guided tour of an apiary. “Sizzerbees” exclusively produces regional organic honey from Munich or the surrounding area. During the 90-minute tour of the company, young and old will learn everything about honey production and its “producers”, the bees. As a little treat, there is a honey tasting in the truest sense of the word at the end of each tour.
If you want to get involved yourself, you still have to wait a bit: There are a few beekeeping courses in Munich – but they all start in winter or spring, so again in 2024. The conditions can be accessed on the respective websites, for example for the price of “city bees” .
Info below www.sizzerbees.com and www.stadtbienen.org
Local honey
The honey comes in flat bags: a shipping innovation from the Freising start-up “nearBees”.
(Photo: nearBees)
Does it really have to be the honey from the supermarket? Buying honey regionally not only supports the local beekeepers, but also ensures a rich harvest for the farmers, greater biodiversity and intact landscapes. I would also like to make a contribution “Isar beekeeper” Norbert Stadler, who offer his bee colonies the best living conditions in the Isarau forests in the south of Freising. The wooden dwellings come from local, sustainably managed and PEFC-certified forests, the wax is also certified organic or even from our own cycle. The result: Sustainable, regional, pure and unadulterated quality honey.
The Freising start-up “nearBees” has rethought honey marketing. The innovative packaging enables a minimum use of resources in combination with the low-cost postage of the flat honey bag. The associated online platform is now active throughout Germany and opens up a greatly simplified sales channel for regional beekeepers. Customers can specifically search for beekeepers in their area and – apart from enjoying delicious honey – also support the regional flora and fauna.
Info below www.isar-imker.de and www.nearbees.de
“Flowering Ribbons”
Flower sponsors wanted: together with the Technical University of Munich, Greencity has laid out more than 80 “blooming ribbons” throughout the city that need to be looked after.
(Photo: Greencity / Katharina Heuberger)
As in many cities, there are also plenty of sparse green spaces on the roadsides in Munich. The “Green City eV” association has set itself the goal of converting these into “near-natural flowering areas”. Between 2019 and 2022, around 80 such green areas were transformed into small bee paradises as part of the “Blooming Ribbons” project launched together with the Chair for Renaturation Ecology at the Technical University of Munich. Anyone who wants to help maintain, look after and mow the existing areas can contact “Green City” Register as a “bloom sponsor”..
Info below www.greencity.de
“A Sky Full of Bees”
Beautiful nature shots: The film “A Sky Full of Bees” will soon be shown again at the Flower Power Festival.
(Photo: Herzfilmproductions)
The bee and its fate also occupied the filmmaker Vanessa Weber von Schmoller in her work on “A Sky Full of Bees”. In addition to the successful referendum “Save the Bees” and its effects, the 90-minute documentary covers species extinction, wild bees, experts and young bee activists who want to make their contribution to saving the animal.
There is, for example, the couple Corinna Hoelzer and Cornelis Hemmer, who launched the “Germany buzzes” initiative. They want to use it to encourage private individuals to help protect bees and to influence the economic and political system.
Weber von Schmoller is not only the maker, but also the narrator of the film – she always speaks out of personal dismay. This perspective is touching without pushing itself too much into the foreground: the word largely belongs to the experts and activists, who enrich the light narrative with a high density of information. The beautiful nature shots also make the film a feast for the eyes. “A Sky Full of Bees” is next time on July 8 at 6 p.m “Flower Power Festival” to see in the Botanical Garden Munich-Nymphenburg.
“A sky full of bees”, at www.flowerpowermuc.de