Christmas gift ideas that give back to bees

When you give the gift of a Wheen Bee Foundation Donation Card, you’ll be supporting the foundation and its work supporting vital research and conservation activities that address the national and global threats to bees.

The cards are available for $25, $50 or $100 Gifts, and all funds go towards research and projects.

Buy a Wheen Bee Foundation Donation Card here

Flow Hive

If your loved one is new to beekeeping, the Starter Bundle from Flow Hive is a great way to ensure they’ll have everything they need.

The bundle features a Flow Hive, an organic cotton beekeeping suit, premium goatskin gloves, a J-hive tool, a stainless steel smoker, a Flow Veil, and a sweet saving.

It’s the perfect way to help your favourite bee enthusiast get set up for success with Flow’s easy honey harvesting technology.

Available from $986 – save $108.

Buy the Starter Bundle

Winesmiths

This limited-edition range of premium two-litre wine packs from Winesmiths  features stunning floral and bee-themed artwork by artist Billie Justice Thomson. Part proceeds from each sale of their Pinot Grigio and Shiraz go towards supporting the Wheen Bee Foundation.

The two-litre wine packs are available for $15.99.

Shop the limited-edition range

Deva Cacao

The perfect Christmas gift for a environmentally conscious chocolate lover.

The Christmas Gift Pack from Deva Cacao contains three 35g bars of handmade organic raw chocolate. Choose any mix of three flavours including Sour Cherry, Macadamia and Mint or Mandarin and Sea Salt.

The Christmas Gift Pack is $16.50 and there is a special Wheen Bee Foundation discount of 10% off the entire range. Enter code WHEEN10 at checkout. Valid until 18 December.

Buy the Christmas Gift Pack

Beechworth Honey

The Bee Cause Collection Gift Pack from Beechworth Honey is 100% pure Australian honey, collected from the Australian bush, in regions with undulating landscapes, vast flatlands and tall eucalypts. The pack includes six Bee Cause honeys, packed into a beautiful box ready for instant gifting.

Bee Cause is a member of 1% for the Planet. Every purchase helps protect bees and bee habitats, with funds donated back to the Wheen Bee Foundation.

The Bee Cause Collection Gift Pack is $34.50.

Buy the Bee Cause Collection Gift Pack

Bees Business

Bring native bees into your life every day of the year with the 2024 Australian Native Bees calendar from Bees Business.

The calendar is full of stunning images, bee facts and information on how to help protect native bees.

The calendar is $25 and all profits from calendar sales will be donated to the Wheen Bee Foundation’s Discover Bees program, which aims to discover and name Australia’s 1,000 undocumented native bee species.

Buy the 2024 Australian Native Bees Calendar

Foil Me

This one’s just for bee-loving hairdressers. Bring the season’s festivities into the hair salon this Christmas with hair foils from Foil Me. Foil Me’s vibrant new collection, The Celebration is the perfect gift for your hairdresser this Christmas.

Alternatively, you can show your hairdresser love and appreciation while also supporting bees with Foil Me’s The Bee Collection. $1 from the sale of every box of The Bee Collection is donated to the Wheen Bee Foundation.

Shop Foil Me

Brass Bee Badge

Become a Bee Advocate this Christmas. Buy a beautiful Wheen Bee Foundation brass bee badge for $25 and show your support for these important pollinators.

Buy a Bee Badge here

Discover Bees Poster

The Discover Bees of Australia poster features detailed images from scientist and photographer Dr James Dorey, capturing the diversity across Australia’s native bee population.

The poster is $35 and funds raised from every poster go to the Discover Bees program, which aims to discover and name Australia’s 1,000 undocumented native bee species.

Buy the Discover Bees poster

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Grant recipients have pledged to plant approximately 4,000 trees and shrubs with the involvement of nearly 1,500 community members.

Other grant recipients included Maleny State School in the Sunshine Coast region, Culgoa Development Group, The Groundswell Collective and Hawkesbury EarthCare Centre.

The Groundswell Collective, a not-for profit community organisation that delivers sustainability projects in the Lake Macquarie region, will use the grant to plant 520 trees and shrubs in a “Tiny Forest”.

Director Anna Noon said the project would support the group’s mission to reverse biodiversity loss in the Lake Macquarie area. 

“Pollinators play such an important role in keeping our local environment healthy,” Ms Noon said. “This project will provide habitat for bees and other pollinating insects which are desperately needed in the area.”

The Carman’s Trees for Bees Community Tree Grants program has been developed in collaboration between the Wheen Bee Foundation and Carman’s and offers grants of $500 to community organisations to plant pollinator-friendly trees and shrubs in their local area.

Wheen Bee Foundation CEO Fiona Chambers said it was exciting to see so many communities keen to support bees and other pollinators.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of applicants, from rural and urban communities across the country, groups who are keenly aware of the need to work together to create much-needed habitat for bees,” Ms Chambers said.

“It’s great to support small community groups that otherwise might not have access to grant funding.”

Carman’s Chief Marketing Officer Jed Simpfendorfer said Carman’s is proud to be working with the Wheen Bee Foundation on such an important program providing benefits for bees and community groups alike.

“What I love most about this program is seeing the impact the grants will have on a wide range of community groups across the country,” Mr Simpfendorfer said. 

“From schools, Landcare groups and aged care centres to environmental organisations and sports clubs, we’re really looking forward to seeing the program come to life.”

The Hawkesbury EarthCare Centre is a meeting place for people focussed on working together for responsible stewardship of the earth. The group will use its grant to plant up to 200 pollinator-friendly trees on land at Richmond, NSW. 

Secretary (HDRAA) Amanda Argent said she was encouraged by the support for the group’s project from the Wheen Bee Foundation and Carman’s to help progress the native garden. This garden will serve as a place of beauty and as an educational resource for endemic, indigenous and other native plants.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to create a relaxing space where our local community can learn about bees and other pollinators,” Ms Argent said. “It is imperative for each of us to understand the importance of bees and other pollinators for the ongoing production of our food and ultimately our survival”.

The individual planting projects will begin in the coming weeks, with the majority of projects expected to be completed by 31 October 2023.

The next round of Community Tree Grants will open on 19 May 2024.

For the full list of recipients visit www.wheenbeefoundation.org.au/communitytreegrants

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The Discover Bees of Australia poster supports researchers to identify and name all of Australia’s native bees before they go extinct.

The new poster features the work of entomologist and photographer Dr James Dorey, an Adjunct Lecturer at Adelaide University who is currently looking at the evolution, taxonomy, and ecology of Australian, Fijian, and global native bees.

Driven by his love of nature, Dr Dorey started his career in ecology and zoology and admits he wasn’t particularly interested in insects in the early days of his career.
The change came when he bought a second-hand 100mm macro lens for his camera, a move that changed the focus of both his study and his photography into insects, and bees in particular.

“I was especially drawn to bees for their diversity and the enormous number of species,” Dr Dorey says.
The new lens enabled the entomologist to explore a new, literally, undiscovered world. “I was amazed by the diversity of animals you can find – there is so much going on in such a small space!”

Dr Doreywas initially inspired by photographing parasitoid wasps which are known as the most diverse groups of animals on the planet. He says he would often find “eight or nine wasp species in my suburban backyard”.

However, he then discovered there could be more than 30 bee species on a single tree in Brisbane. “I was blown away by that.”

His work describing and classifying new species of native bees provides many of the subjects of his photography. The extraordinary images featured on the Discover Bees of Australia poster require between five and 150 photographs of a single subject to create. “The macro lens basically focuses closer – what you’re seeing in the frame is the same as in real life or even larger. You can really isolate a subject.”

The incredibly detailed images James provide the viewer with an insight into a world not normally seen by the human eye, an invitation to a new perspective and hopefully a new understanding of this secret world which is so important to the environment that surrounds us.

Dr Dorey has released a book, Bees of Australia – A Photographic Exploration, published through CSIRO, as well as contributing to many respected magazines, journals, and awards. Last year he won the Botanical category in the Australian Geographic ANZANG photography competition.

Read more about the Discover Bees program at wheenbeefoundation.org.au/our-work/projects/discoverbees

You can see more of James’s extraordinary photographs at his website JamesDoreyPhotography.com.au.

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“Kids these days seem to be disconnected from what they’re eating” Amelia says. “There’s so much involved – food miles, the impact of imported food, pollinators.”

Earlier this year, Bee School by Beechworth Honey teamed up with the Wheen Bee Foundation to create the Centre for Bee Education, a new national online learning hub for science-based information about bees and other pollinators.

The Centre has a range of resources, Learning Kits and lesson plans all created by teachers who have been teaching kids about bees for years at Bee School by Beechworth Honey.

“Having an online hub makes what we do at Bee School at Beechworth accessible to people further away from us – it makes it a truly nation-wide program.”

Amelia’s passion for bees and food systems stems back to her early days as a child.

“I grew up in nature on a beef farm in Gippsland and have always been into food and where food comes from.”

Her first degree was in Sport Science at Deakin University in Geelong, majoring in Nutrition, and her career path since then has been a holistic connection combining the many elements of her life – farm, food, bees and teaching.

Amelia worked as a primary school teacher in Geelong for five years until the covid pandemic hit and sent her travelling.

“In between lockdowns we set off in a caravan and ended up in Beechworth,” she says. She landed a job at Bee School and “everything else just fell into place”.

Amelia says the Bee School employs qualified teachers to create and deliver the programs at the school, trained professionals who “have the skillset to align bee programs with the curriculum”.

“For example, a topic in the Foundation Level for Science in the Victorian Curriculum is Living things have a variety of external features and live in different places where their basic needs, including food, water and shelter, are met. As part of our course, this easily links through to a great explanation using bees as the example.”

Amelia points out another example through the Year 3 topic: Different living things have different life cycles and depend on each other and the environment to survive.

“This is, of course, highly relevant to the bees of the world and is a great illustration of this concept.”

Amelia is pleased that the Centre for Bee Education can offer teachers access to experts in their field and their dynamic research through the Wheen Bee Foundation. Using their educational skills, the teachers can translate this technical information into a more suitable format for teachers and students.

“It’s all about engaging students at whatever level in bees and their vital work.”

For more information about the Centre for Bee Education, visit wheenbeefoundation.org.au/C4BE or beechworthhoney.com.au/bee-school

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In addition to these new initiatives, the Wheen Bee Foundation has awarded $65,000 in tree grants over the past two years, planting more than 92 hectares of pollinator friendly habitat, supported the Pollination Security CRC Core Bid Group which attracted $53 million in partnerships and partnered with Federal, State and local governments to invest $257,000 in the Powerful Pollinator Planting Guides program.

All of these achievements are made possible thanks to donations from the Wheen Bee Foundation’s generous supporters. To donate visit wheenbeefoundation.org.au/donate

Read the report here.

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The program has been designed to not only make members of the community aware of the plight that bees face in Australia and worldwide, but also give people an opportunity to do something about it by introducing hives of native bees into schools, parks, bushland, businesses and private gardens.

The Gold Coast Regional Beekeepers Association launched the Bee Native project to help to safeguard Australia’s native bee population, and in particular, reverse what it says is a rapidly declining native bee population in the local area, partly caused by increased housing development.

Drew Maywald is the Secretary of the Gold Coast Regional Beekeepers and is a passionate force behind the new initiative.

“I’ve been fascinated by native bees for quite a while,” Drew says. “I first saw their importance when I was gardening. Originally, I would be lucky to get six to eight pickings from my snow peas. After I introduced these little fellows into my garden, that went up to 18 pickings.”

This led Drew to the idea of fostering hives throughout the community, providing the resources and support for people to give more bees a safe space to grow in their area.

“We’re starting small,” Drew says. “We will have 22 or 23 hives ready in the spring and within two years we will have 50 hives out in the community – hopefully more than that.”

These hives, known as OATH Hives, are two-tiered wooden boxes measuring 28cm x 20cm x 22cm and are being used to help re-establish native bees back into the environment and ecosystems.

By splitting the hives as they become strong enough, and creating new colonies, the number of hives in the community will continue to grow over the coming years.

The native bees involved in the project are the small stingless native bee Tetragonula carbonaria. Because these bees do not sting, they are ideal for schools, private gardens and the community.

Community involvement is the key to the program’s success. Not only will the hand-made hives be watched over by the community but several businesses including Dulux, Stratco, Bunnings and the Veterans Support Group Men’s Shed, have made a significant contribution to the materials and construction of these hives.

Anyone interested in the project or in fostering a hive can email Drew at gcrb.secretary@beekeepers.asn.au

 

About the Tetragonula carbonaria

The Australian native bee Tetragonula carbonaria is endemic to the Gold Coast region and a 1500 km region stretching from the south coast of New South Wales to central Queensland.

Because these native bees are so small, they are wonderful pollinators as they can get deep inside flowers where honey bees are too large to go.

Several native bees laden with pollen can very often be seen in each flower, and more than 20 native bees have been seen in one sunflower.

These special bees work harmoniously with the Australian environment and are a vital, natural part of the continual health and vibrancy of our ecosystems.

                                – By Jane Money with the Gold Coast Regional Beekeepers Association

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Melbourne Polytechnic’s Certificate III in Beekeeping AHC31818 is the only accredited beekeeping course in Victoria, and participants will have access to the latest apiculture equipment in the industry, including new apiaries, waxing stations and honey bee colonies.

The course covers the following essential beekeeping aspects:

• Establishing beehives and apiaries
• Effectively managing pathogens that impact bees
• Safely transporting live bees to various locations
• Managing honey production
• Providing crucial pollination services for agriculture and the ecosystem

The Certificate III course includes immersive and practical learning, with hands-on training at the Eden Park training centre near Whittlesea north of Melbourne, while other selected components of the course are delivered online, allowing for flexible and accessible learning.

Enrol in the Certificate III in Beekeeping AHC31818 for their July intake and become part of the new generation of skilled workers that are necessary to maintain Australia’s ever-growing beekeeping industry.

For more information visit https://melbpo.ly/959

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The training program is ideal for beekeepers, researchers, farmers and land managers and bee enthusiasts – anyone with a passion to volunteer for pollinators.

The program includes communication and leadership skills training, talks from industry experts, information sessions on Wheen Bee Foundation programs and a bus tour visiting key bee research and biosecurity venues including AgriBio at La Trobe University, the Mickleham Post Entry Quarantine Facility and Agriculture Victoria’s State Control Centre at Attwood.

The program will be held in Melbourne from Friday, 21 July at 7pm until Monday, 24 July at 5pm.

Participation in the program is $1,950, and a subsidised early bird price of $1,500 is available for registrations received by COB Friday 23 June 2023.

Three scholarships are available for applicants who have been unsuccessful in accessing funding support from their local bee club and have no other means of funding their participation.

Enrolments in the 2023 Bee Ambassador Training Program are now open and close COB Friday 30 June 2023.

Enrol at wheenbeefoundation.org.au/our-work/projects/bee-ambassadors/

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The poster features 22 native bee species, including the tiny Anthidiellum (Pycnanthidium) turneri found on the Queensland coast, Megachile ustulata, known as a firetail resin bee because of its distinctive orange abdomen, and the iconic Xylocopa (Lestis) aerata or green carpenter bee.

Funds raised from each purchase go to the Discover Bees program, which aims to identify and name Australia’s 1,000 undocumented native bee species over the next six years.

Wheen Bee Foundation CEO Fiona Chambers says this campaign to raise funds to identify and document Australia’s native bees comes at a critical time for many bee species, which face the threat of extinction due to continued habitat loss and climate change.

“Australia’s native bee species have co-evolved with our native plants,” Ms Chambers says. “In some cases, they have developed a unique relationship where specialist bee species are required to pollinate certain plants.

“The extinction of any one of these bee species could drastically affect some native plants, which in turn could potentially alter Australia’s unique ecosystems.

“If we don’t do this important identification and documentation work soon, with the increasing threats to native bees through habitat loss and severe weather events, we risk losing important bees before we have developed an understanding of the critical role the play.

The poster is $35 and is available for pre-order at wheenbeefoundation.org.au/product/discover-bees-poster

The poster has been produced with support from Rotarians for Bees, Taxonomy Australia, CSIRO, and the Australian Native Bee Association.

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The Trees for Bees Community Tree Grants is being run by Wheen Bee Foundation in partnership with Carman’s, and has been launched as part of the celebrations for World Bee Day, Saturday, 20 May 2023.

Wheen Bee Foundation CEO Fiona Chambers said the grants will increase vital habitat for bees, while also raising awareness of the important role these pollinators play in food security, with one in three mouthfuls of the food we eat depending on bees for pollination.

“The Trees for Bees Community Tree Grants will help reverse habitat loss, providing critical food sources and breeding habitat for bees,” Ms Chambers said. “It also helps raise awareness within our communities about why planting pollinator-friendly trees is so important.

“It’s a great opportunity to show people how individually we can make a difference, and collectively we can scale that impact.”

Carman’s General Manager of Marketing and Innovation Jed Simpfendorfer said joining forces with Wheen Bee Foundation and sponsoring the Trees for Bees Community Tree Grants program was an obvious move.

“We share the same passion for supporting Australian communities and the importance of sustainable bee-friendly habitats,” Mr Simpfendorfer said.

“This planting program will contribute to healthier bee populations to help support our suppliers and their local communities.”

Twenty grants are available with applications open to community organisations, not-for-profits, school groups, Landcare groups, sporting and gardening clubs and sustainability groups.

Applicants will be judged on their proposed project’s benefit to pollinators, the area covered and community impact.

Ms Chambers said it was great opportunity to partner with Carman’s, a company that shares the Wheen Bee Foundation’s values and was willing to roll up its sleeves to help bees.

“Carman’s has a genuine interest in making a difference for the environment and for our pollinators,” Ms Chambers said.

“This helps us to talk to a whole new audience about the vital role bees play in our lives, and support them to take action in their gardens and community areas.”

Applications are now open and close on 31 July 2023 5pm AEST.

Apply for a Trees for Bees Community Tree Grant

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