The Dutch, "recognizing the crucial role played by wild bees in the pollination of food crops, especially fruit and vegetable plants, [created] a national pollinator strategy was announced in 2018, to create increased opportunities for “bed and breakfast for bees”. The strategy. signed by 43 government and non-government partners. includes 70 initiatives aimed at creating more nesting sites for bees and strengthening their food supply, in the process enabling nature and agriculture to coexist."
"Dutch cities have certainly been doing their bit. Amsterdam has been working on various bee-friendly initiatives that include putting up “bee hotels” (a collection of hollow plant stems or thin bamboo that provides cavities for solitary bees to nest), replacing grass in public spaces with native flowering plants, and stopping the use of chemical weed killers on public lands. Florinda Nieuwenhuis, an ecologist at the municipality of Amsterdam, reported in Ten years of Wild Bee Policy in Amsterdam (March 2021) that a 45% increase in the number of solitary bee species was recorded in the city in 2015, compared with a survey in 2000."
Read the full story here from the Guardian! https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/27/bee-population-steady-dutch-cities-thanks-to-pollinator-strategy
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