Environmentality 25 September 2013 - Native Bees, Bee Hotels & Environmental Champions

Thank you to Lee Scott and Caroline Overbeek for coming into the studio today and talking to us about the fantastic projects Hume City Council are sponsoring through their Environmental Champions programme.

Lee Scott is one of these champions.  Lee's passion is to save our dwindling native bee population by encouraging her local community to build B&Bs, not for us of course, but for the BEES!
There are over 1,500 different species of native bee in Australia.  

In Victoria we have Reed, Blue Banded (left), Teddy Bear, Leafcutter, Resin, Homalictus and Masked bees.  Our native bees are much smaller than your everyday imported garden variety bee.  Our bees can be as small as 2mm and as big as 10mm.


The leafcutter bee (right) snips a neat circle or oval from a leaf. She will use these leaf pieces to weave tiny cradles for her eggs inside her nest burrow.

In order to help our native bees we need to plant lots of flowering plants and build them somewhere to live.  It is much simpler than you may think. 

Look at Lee's hotel (left).  If you are facebooker, Lee's site has instructions on building your own Bee hotel  www.facebook.com/groups/372437852856406

There is also some great information about our native bees on http://www.aussiebee.com.au

If you live in the Hume area and have an environmental cause you would like to get off the ground, contact Caroline at the Hume City Council or visit their web site for more information http://www.hume.vic.gov.au/Waste_Environment/Environment/Get_Involved/Environmental_Champions_Program

Bee's and Champions were not the only topic in the studio today, the sacking of the Climate Commission by the Abbott Government and it's rebirth as the Climate Council.  David Suzuki's appearance on Q&A and Jaime bought to our attention a contentious article by  Mike Archer AM, Professor, Evolution of Earth and Life Systems Research Group at University of New South Wales.  

Mike is arguing that maybe the environmental damage caused by the farming of meat such as cattle is not as damaging to our environment as if we were to ramp up production of plant based food.  Tell us what you think?  http://theconversation.com/ordering-the-vegetarian-meal-theres-more-animal-blood-on-your-hands-4659

Music played:

• Stereolab, Miss Modular from the Dots and Loops album
• Sarah McLachlan's cover version of Lennon/McCartney's Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night from the film 'I am Sam'
• Chris Issac, Sweet Leilani, The Baja Sessions album
• The Beatles, Let it Be, Let it Be album

Next week on the show, Royce DeSousa, General Manager, Energy & Sustainability, Visy

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