A Celebration for Biodiversity

May is the first month of the Summer and boy is it going to be a different one in 2020! But let's look on the bright side, it's the time of year for lots of flowers, busy bees in the gardens and growing of fruits and veggies. Biodiversity is essential for a balanced world. It is essential for human health and well-being. Variety is the key to our food chain and life on Earth. So for the month of May, we are celebrating biodiversity and the importance of creating and keeping the breadth of species on our planet. 

1. How do I create a more biodiverse home? Every small step helps. You do not need a big back garden. Start with potted plants on your windowsills, both inside and out. Pollinators like bees, insects and butterflies are essential for helping biodiversity and need pitstops between gardens to refuel. 

2. Take a look at Biodiversity Ireland. Here you can help record any sightings of flora and fauna in your area. This helps to track and protect important wildlife in Ireland. On their website, you can find crash courses on the types of bees and butterflies found in Ireland. This is especially a hit with kids on their nature walks outside. Take a look here.

3. Be careful of invasive species. These are non-native species that have been introduced by human intervention, outside their natural range and that has the ability to threaten our native wildlife, cause damage to our environment, economy or human health. So when you are gardening try choosing native plants to your area. You can also purchase Irish Wild Flower Bombs here, pollinators especially love these!

4. Unfortunately, Bloom 2020 has been cancelled due to Covid-19. Bloom is a huge gardening event supporting all things Irish from horticulture to food and drink. We were lucky enough to attend and have a garden in Bloom 2019. Earthology helped the Irish Girl Guides to build their #pledgeagainstplastic garden. We used everyday plastic items you would find at home to build furniture from eco-bricks and create pots for plants from plastic bottles. Take a look to see our Bloom Garden 2019. 

So this year, try to educate yourself on the importance of biodiversity and how the little steps we do can make a huge impact on the help of our wildlife.