A LEADING housing developer donated a number of wooden honey dippers to a nursery in Northwich to mark World Bee Day (May 20).

Sunrise Nursery is located close to the developer’s Dane View and Imperial Park II developments, have distributed the honey dippers to the children as part of lessons about the importance of bees to our planet’s ecosystem.

Kayleigh Walton, Nursery Manager at Sunrise Nursery Northwich, said: "The children at Sunrise Nursery Northwich spent World Bee Day learning all about bees and how important they are.

"They learned about the different body parts of a bee, where they live, how they help flowers to grow and how they make honey.

"The children also enjoyed lots of bee themed crafts such as making and painting their own bee models.

"The children especially enjoyed decorating their honey sticks, generously donated by Barratt Homes, ready to take home and enjoy some delicious honey."

World Bee Day was created after a proposal from Slovenia that the United Nations proclaim May 20 as World Bee Day. The awareness day began in 2017 and celebrated it’s fourth year in 2021.

The day is used internationally to celebrate bees, and raise awareness of the importance of bees and beekeeping.

There are over 250 species of bees in the UK, including 25 species of bumblebee, 224 species of solitary bee, and one honeybee species.

There has been a large decline in population numbers of bees since 1980, due to a number of factors, such as disease, climate change, pesticides, and habitat loss.

Bees are not only a crucial part of our ecosystem, but they also contribute to the world’s economy.

In 2017, it was reported that pollinators such as bees are estimated to be adding up to £600 million per year to the value of UK crops through increased yield and quality.

Neil Goodwin, Managing Director at Barratt Homes Manchester, said: "Bees are a very important part of our planet, and as the UK’s leading housebuilder it is important that we use our voice to encourage people to protect them as much as possible.

"We are pleased to hear that children at Sunrise Nursery in Northwich enjoyed the donation of honey sticks, and incorporated them into lessons about World Bee Day.

"We would encourage others to follow their example and learn as much as they can about bees and other wildlife."