Oxfordshire Green Party is presenting a motion to the County Council at its May meeting on Bee colony collapse. This is a second attempt as other parties on the County Council appear to be blocking Green Party motions.
Dr Hazel Dawe, who attended the recent Bee Summit, comments:
“The collapse of Oxfordshire’s bee colonies has reached a crisis point, demanding a response from the County Council. Oxfordshire has experienced a 60% decline in bee colonies over the last 10 Years and this is a threat to our food supply as bees provide over 80% of our crop pollination. The Green Party motion to the County Council calls on the Secretary of State for the Environment to extend his recent moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides to an outright ban. The County Council is also being pressed to launch a programme that would support and protect bees focused on establishing bee colonies in its parks and managing its municipal gardens, green spaces and wild areas with bee friendly plants.
“Oxfordshire County Council could also establish and fund a ‘Bee Friendly Wildlife Group ‘of officers charged with promoting bee keeping in Oxfordshire. The officers could establish bee hives on municipal land and in the gardens of volunteers to encourage forms of gardening and land use that support pollinating insects whilst also safeguarding continuous ‘Bee lines’ of flowering plants in the County. The team can also visit schools to educate children about the relationship between bees and biodiversity and the problems surrounding bee mortality.”
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