HOTEL FOR WILD BEES – BUILD IT WITH US!

BEES MEAN LIFE. We hear a lot about bees disappearing. If they disappear, other species may disappear too. Including our own. Frightening? Yes.

We need to act. Educate. Protect. Help. Everyone can make a difference.

That is why we would like to invite you to join an initiative in which, together with beekeeper Michał Pilch from Pasieka M3, and drawing on his knowledge and passion, we will create a hotel for wild pollinators and an educational trail at the top of Skrzyczne, on the meadow by Schronisko Skrzyczne . Wild bees are the ones that need our support the most. There are many of them on this mountain, and tens of thousands of people visit it every year, making it an ideal place to educate and raise awareness.

BUILDING A HOTEL FOR WILD POLLINATORS AND CREATING AN EDUCATIONAL TRAIL ON SKRZYCZNE

The plan and the way the initiative works are very simple:

🐝 20 May is World Bee Day, established by the United Nations;

🐝 On 21 May at 10:00, open workshops will be held at the shelter on the meadow at Skrzyczne for everyone who would like to join us. Together, we will build a hotel for pollinators and launch the educational trail. The workshops are open to everyone – children are especially welcome, so they can help build the hotel and listen to a talk about bees and pollinators.

🐝 Linden blossom honey is our building block. The jars have just arrived in our store, and you can purchase them before the event to support the initiative. 100% of the proceeds from every jar will go towards this project.

🐝 When you purchase the honey, you receive 10% off wool hats and caps, and we will donate the 10% you save towards the initiative – a WIN-WIN situation 💛

And now, a little explanation – where did the idea come from, and why a bee hotel?

Insect hotels are used to improve the pollination of insect-pollinated plants and are also a form of active nature conservation. They provide insects with a place to lay their eggs, shelter from animals, rain and frost, or simply a safe place to rest overnight.

Many insect hotels encourage solitary bees and other insects to establish safe nesting sites. There are as many as 470 species of bees in Poland, most of them solitary bees that play an important role as pollinators in the ecosystem. Solitary insects do not defend their nests, so an insect hotel is completely safe, and approaching it does not put you at risk of being stung.

WHO SUPPORTS US?

The plan for building the pollinator hotel (its structure and materials), the final choice of its location, as well as the workshops about bees, will be led by local Silesian beekeeper Michał Pilch from Pasieka M3.

A few words about Michał:

Michał holds a professional qualification in beekeeping;
he is a co-founder of the Urban Beekeepers' Association
he has been actively working with bees for over 3 years as part of the Pasieka M3 project www.pasiekam3.pl;
he currently runs two apiaries – one on the ground and one on the roof of a company in Katowice;
he runs educational workshops for children and adults on environmental and beekeeping topics, including “The Secret Life of Bees”;
professionally, he works as a software tester, although he is trained as a social educator, photographic technician and farmer.
the linden blossom honey – our building blocks – comes from his apiary

Michał has also been wearing KOPYTO hats for many years, and that is how we first got to know each other. We were brought together by our love of nature, a zero-waste lifestyle and the desire to take active steps to protect the environment.

That is how the idea for this project came about – and we would love for you and your children to join us too.

We are all part of the change. Our choices make a difference. Together, we can achieve a lot.

See you on 21 May at the top of Skrzyczne!

Best wishes,

Karolina, Kasia & Zosia