What Can I do to Help the Bees?

Eat Organic

Buying organic food guarantees that pesticides have been kept out of the supply chain meaning better food for humans and a cleaner ecosystem for the pollinator. The best way to send a message to our food producers is by what we buy to eat. Buying organic sends a message that we are concerned about what we eat. Food may cost more initially until the scales tip and more consumers demand their food to be organic. The following website is a great resource for all things organic:

Organic Consumers Association


Become a Backyard Beekeeper
It's a fascinating and rewarding hobby for you and helps pollinate yours and your neighbor's yards all Spring and Summer. The bounty of honey come harvest time is an extra bonus! Many cities have community centers that offer simple starter courses or better yet find someone local to shadow for a few trips inside their hive. Resources are a plenty on the internet, but here's one approach:

The Barefoot Beekeeper


Plant a Pollinator Friendly Garden
Honeybees and plants need each other to survive. Without plant nectar and pollen, honeybees would have no food. If honeybees did not pollinate the plants, many would not be able to reproduce. Around 40% of the food we eat depends on pollination by insects like honeybees, so you can imagine the impact the loss of these hardworking insects would have on your daily life.

Honeybee populations are increasingly in danger due to urban sprawl, pesticide use in agriculture, and climate change. It is essential that we do our part to protect the health of honeybees everywhere. Their future is our future! Support healthy hives for years to come by turning part of your world into a bee friendly habitat.

Here are several annual and perennial flowers that attract and encourage beneficial insects such as ladybugs, lacewings, ground beetles and BEES!!

• California Poppy
• Baby’s Breath
• Lacy Phacelia
• Evening Primrose
• Blanket Flower
• Baby Blue Eyes
• Purple Coneflower
• Shasta Daisy
• Black eyed Susan
• Coriander, Slowbolt
• Microclover
• Butterfly Milkweed
• Candytuft
• California Bluebells
• Lance-leaved Coreopsis
• Tidy Tips
• Plains Coreopsis
• White Yarrow
• Johnny Jump up

Donate to Pollinator Protection/Support Organizations
As part of our ongoing commmitment to support sustainable beekeeping and a clean and safe environment for pollinators Big Dipper donates a portion of our proceeds to organizations both local and global.