World Bee Day - 20th May
Published: 20 May 2026
Chigwell Parish Council has recently collaborated with Sharon Grant, a local beekeeper, to install four beehives on the biodiversity site behind the Parish offices on Hainault Road, Chigwell.
As today is
World Bee Day, we thought we would give you a brief insight into its history and why it is so important.
World Bee Day is celebrated on the
20th of May every year. This date was chosen as it was the day on which Anton Jansa, the pioneer of beekeeping, was baptised in 1734. The date was proposed by Slovenia and approved by the United Nations Member States in December 2017.
The purpose of
World Bee Day is to recognise and acknowledge the vital role that bees and other pollinators have on our ecosystem to sustain life on earth. Bees pollinate almost 75% of the world’s crops, including soft fruits, apples, and vegetable plants.
There are a few ways that you can help our lovely bees:
- Planting bee-friendly plants like heather and daisies and red clover on balconies, terraces and in gardens.
- Leaving sections of the garden wild and letting the grass grow long gives the bees a place to shelter and to use as a ‘Bee Highway’.
- Create a bee hotel for your garden's solitary bee population.
- Leaving a small dish with a few pebbles and shallow water in can help if a bee is thirsty.
Information provided by Cllr Debby Rye.
Bee watering station for thirsty bees.
Solitary bee hotel.
Photos property of Chigwell Parish Council and Cllr D. Rye.