May 23, 20231 min read

World Bee Day

Every year, May 20th marks World Bee Day. There are 20,000 species of bee on the planet and over 500 here in British Columbia alone. Would you know a bee if you saw one?

Go to this page to learn more: World Bee Day - Department of Biological Sciences - Simon Fraser University (sfu.ca)

We depend on bees and other pollinators for our existence. They play a vital role in agriculture and global ecosystems by maintaining our food supply and contributing to biodiversity and other ecosystem services. The vast majority of pollinators are wild, including over 20 000 species of bees and many types of butterflies, birds, bats and other insects. However, in many areas, bees, pollinators, and many other insects are declining in abundance and diversity. Most of these drivers are human-induced.

The celebration of World Bee Day on 20 May presents an opportunity to call for global cooperation and solidarity to ensure that we prioritize efforts to protect bees and other pollinators, thereby mitigating threats posed to food security and agricultural livelihoods and defending against biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. World Bee Day is also an occasion to raise awareness of how everyone can make a difference to support, restore and enhance the role of pollinators.