September is Bee Aware Month and this year the National Beekeepers Association challenged councils across New Zealand to take part and help feed the bees. South Waikato District Council took up the challenge and got some of our local tamariki buzzing about bees too.
The theme of this year's Bee Aware Month was 'Feed the Bees' and the challenge for councils was to dedicate a patch of land in their district for a bee-friendly garden and mark it so the community know what the garden is for.
"We liked this idea so much we decided to plant bee-friendly gardens in all our four main towns; Tokoroa, Putāruru, Tīrau and Arapuni," commented Council's Parks and Property Manager, Greg Shaw.
Children, parents and staff from Te Ara Metua Punanga Reo joined Mayor Neil Sinclair and Council staff to sow seeds in the prepared Tokoroa bee-friendly garden located at Lake Moana Nui.
"It was a fantastic experience for our tamariki and staff," commented Ani Maea, Manager of Te Ara Metua Punanga Reo, "We are looking forward to taking the children back to the garden to see how the flowers have grown and to see if we can spot any bees."
Planting bee-friendly gardens are a great way to ensure our kiwi bees have enough to eat so they can keep doing their job. The seeds planted were wildflowers and they were donated to Council by the National Beekeepers Association.
"I used to be a beekeeper myself, so it was personally a lovely experience to help plant this garden with the children," said Mayor Neil Sinclair, "Well done to the National Beekeepers Association for organising another great Bee Aware Month."
