Climate Connections aims to link stories from different parts of the world around issues of climate change and global poverty. Some people would think that the impact of climate change on our lives is less direct than in other parts of the world, and of course in some cases it is.
However, our friend Amanda Miller has sent us her personal account and experience of how extreme weather already affects her work as a beekeeper.
"I have been keeping bees for ten years and find that every year brings its challenges. Although the experts are debating how climate change will affect us, on a local scale it seems as though we are to expect more extremes of weather.
Bees can stand cold weather well but I don't think colder winters are on the cards. What they do find difficult is periods of drought when the plants are so water stressed that they are unable to produce enough nectar for the bees' needs. In the 2011 drought we had to feed our bees in the summer to prevent them from starving. Warm autumns may be pleasant for us; with temperatures up to 19 degrees C in November 2011, but this keeps the bees active instead of going into a quiescent cluster and, with no flowers to speak of, they use up their honey stores which should be keeping them going over the winter. Warm autumns like we had in 2011 also mean the queen continues to lay eggs and they raise new bees enabling parasitic Varroa mites to continue to breed.
Varroa was introduced in the 1990's and has wiped out most of our wild colonies of honey bees and it spreads viruses for which we have no treatment. Because of the generally warmer springs, plants are flowering weeks earlier, This can lead to a gap period in June when there is little producing nectar – another reason why bees were hungry last summer. June gaps are nothing new, but in combination with all the other stresses, this is bad news for bees.
Not only is human activity changing the climate and affecting temperatures, rainfall and plant growth but also humans have caused the decline in wild flowers and undisturbed areas where bumblebees and solitary bees can live. Hedges are cut at inappropriate times of year too so there are fewer sources of different pollens which the bees need to rear healthy broods (and berries for the birds). Those of us who care can help in a small way by planting nectar-bearing plants in our gardens (not doubles or hybrids) especially those which flower at difficult times for bees, such as spring-flowering crocuses and plants which flower in late summer and autumn. Bees do make use of town gardens so let's make them as green and beautiful as possible and try to conserve our wild countryside areas too"
For more information on beekeeping in the Brighton area go to the Brighton and Lewes Beekeepers' website: http://www.brightonlewesbeekeepers.co.uk/ or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Get some ideas on how to make your life more sustainable on our 
