Pollinator Plan Juniors

The Background In 2015, bee experts in Ireland came together to create the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. We did this because our pollinators, especially our 98 wild bee species, are in big trouble. We need bees in order to grow our fruit and vegetables and to make sure our countryside has lots of beautiful wildflowers. Now we need your help to make Ireland a better place for bees and other pollinators. We need you to tell everyone how important bees are. We also need you to make your school and garden a safe place for pollinating insects to live. We have produced lots of resources to help you to do this and to help you understand what pollinators need to survive. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan was the brainchild of Dr. Úna FitzPatrick, National Biodiversity Data Centre, and Prof Jane Stout, Trinity College Dublin. 'We have witnessed first-hand the slow disappearance of our biodiversity over our own lifetimes. When we were growing up in the 1980s, bumblebees and other insects were much more plentiful than they are today. To younger generations, what we see now is the new normal. If people don’t know what has been lost, how can we expect them to feel the need to change things? For many years, the data were telling us that pollinators were in trouble, and research has been showing what we could do about it. There comes a time when you can’t stand by anymore. The onus is on us.' The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan was published in 2015 and is a shared plan of action, which aims to make the island more biodiversity-friendly. It is supported by over 100 governmental and non-governmental organisations, over 270 businesses, 24 partner councils, and thousands of volunteers in schools, colleges, and community groups. Ireland was one of the first countries in Europe to address this problem and, since its launch, the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan has inspired and helped many other countries to develop their own pollinator strategies.