Of butterflies, bumblebees and barbeques

The office I work in benefits from lots of windows and zero air conditioning, so in the height of summer with temperatures in London competing with the molten core of the earth, the windows are wide open. A welcome breeze, accompanied with a shrill-brain-drilling type noise from the engineers next door, and several unfortunate bees. I say unfortunate, but usually I'm the one who ends up worse off. Last year, my heroic actions of 'saving the bee' resulted in me having to fill in the 'accident book' as the chair I was standing on to open the window, happened to have wheels and I landed clumsily on top of a printer. I think the bee escaped unhurt. I had bruises, and a new walk, similar to Quasimodo.

So a lot of people have been talking to me about bees lately. Which is interesting and I think it's good to defend the cause of the humble bee. My own personal interest in bees dates back as far as the Wuzzles. Remember Bumblelion? Very cute, half lion, half bumblebee. 100% fictional. What can I say, it was the 80s. I was young.

Thanks to Liz for this article on bees. Bumblebees are amazing, we rely on them to pollinate our plants, without plants we wouldn't have food. Bees are under threat because of the toxins in pesticides that have severe effects on them. A lot of agricultural changes have led to the decline in countryside, and loss of habitat. Climate change as well is thought to contribute to this. It's interesting that this article headlines with the financial loss that could happen if bees die out. Economic loss is one thing, but biodiversity is something I think that can't be measured on a profit and loss spreadsheet.

We had a barbeque in the garden not so long ago. And I was persuaded into buying butterfly friendly charcoal... Bioregional - friendly to flutterbies.

Bioregional uses wood from UK forests, which reduces the environmental impact as it means it doesn't have to travel as far to get to the shops - less carbon. They are also committed not just to replanting but to encouraging a natural habitat for butterflies and bird species that are considered to be at risk.

In some cases, regular charcoal comes from tropical forests, and if the trees aren't replanted this leads to deforestation, reducing the natural habitat, which leads to a reduction in the variation of species, and global warming. Using charcoal which comes from local sources has less impact on the earth and doesn't destroy the natural habitat for the wide variety of species that make the forest their home. So without sounding like a tree hugger, erm, because that's not what I am.... two things. One, watch you don't tread on any bumblebees because bees are very useful. And quite pretty. And useful for things other than making honey. And two, it's BBQ season. So get out there, and enjoy the terrific weather and toss a... sausage... or a marshmallow on your butterfly friendly barbie.