Did you know that more than 75 per cent of cultivated crops and 90 per cent of wild flowering plants depend on pollinators, specifically bees, but domestic bees are dying at an alarming annual mortality rate of 30 per cent?
Last year alone in Quebec, the average rate was a staggering 40 per cent. Just imagine: if this trend continues, 100 bees become 60 in year one; 60 becomes 36 in year two, and in year three, there are only 21…
This is why it is important to raise awareness for bees. May 20 is World Bee Day, and we encourage everyone to learn more about the importance of bees and how to protect them.
Earlier this month, we went on a “Beescapade” at the invitation of Guerlain, iconic skincare and perfume house from Paris, France. There, we learned about the beekeeping world, how honey products can be turned into different items, tasted delicious honey made during different times of the year when different flowers bloom, and attended Canada’s first-ever bee school. This event made us truly appreciative of the wonders of the bee.
This took place in Miels d’Anicet, and organic honey farm nestled in the Laurentian forests three hours north of Montreal. Free of intensive agriculture and with plenty of natural waters, it provides an ideal environment for high quality beehive apiary. The event is attended by about 20 journalists, Guerlain’s Canada team, as well as its Chief Sustainability Officer from Paris, Cecile Lochard.
Bees have always been very dear to Guerlain. They have been the symbol of the House since 1828. For more than a decade, it has worked in a multitude of ways to protect them and also raise awareness around the importance of bee conservation for the world of today and tomorrow.
One of its commitment is to teach children about the cause of bees, thanks to its Bee School. This awareness-building program for primary school children is led by Guerlain House employees, allowing young people to learn about the role of bees and their protection. Another bee-related programme is Women for Bees, in partnership with UNESCO. Angelina Jolie is the Godmother, it aims to train new women beekeepers at UNESCO’s biosphere reserves. Also, between May 20 and May 22, 20% of sales from purchases in-store or at Guerlain.com will be donated to the Guerlain for Bees Conservation Programme, including sales of the limited-edition Abeille Royale Advanced Youth Watery Oil, which has been redesigned for the occasion by the French artist Céline Cléron.
Advanced Youth Watery Oil Limited edition by Céline Cléron, 50ml | $205
If bees were no longer to exist, most fruits, flowers and seeds would disappear forever, taking with them an infinite number of irreplaceable colours, flavours and smells. Across the world, intensive farming, vanishing habitats, climate change and so forth are drastically impacting the health of bees, both wild and domestic.
As exceptional pollinators, bees are “essential to our food safety, nutrition and environment.
Let’s all start to bee kind to bees.
