Rotary District 2110 Sicily and Malta tells its story for 3Bee

It is with the intervention of Dr. Roberto Lo Nigro, District Committee Chairman "SOS Bees...and not only" that 3Bee presents the renewed commitment of the Rotary Club and District 2110 Sicily and Malta in this 2022. At the heart of the project is the confirmed support of adoption of bees from 3 beekeepers in the region between the provinces of Palermo, Trapani and Catania and the planting of the first nectariferous forestRotary with scalar flowering, with the aim of increasing the grazing space for all pollinators.

Rotary District 2110 Sicily and Malta chose to adopt during the two years of the project 502 biodiversity plans. In this way it has helped to protect over 4 million bees, which will pollinate about 4 billion flowers. With the aim of regenerating nectariferous pasture areas Rotary District 2110 Sicily and Malta will support an experienced grower in the care of 100 nectariferous trees. All this will allow the production of 154 kg of nectar useful for pollinators and the subtraction of 8.67 tonnes of C02 for one year.

Not only bees then, as the communication created to support the activity suggests, but also nectariferous plants with a fundamental role in the regulation of ecosystems, today in constant imbalance due to the direct and indirect consequences of climate change. The 4,000 trees already planted in the previous year are joined by the nectariferous forest project of 3Bee with 100 native tall trees, capable of generating nectar supplies for bees. Bees, honey and non-melliferous, environmental sentinels and key bio-indicators, are constantly alerting us to this fact, and it is thanks to their protection that projects such as this one can year after year find new forms and impactful solutions. From monitoring data, to application on the ground, thanks to the active contribution of all members, beekeepers and growers involved in raising awareness. .

Rotary District 2110 Sicily and Malta, in fact, accompanies all its projects with a form of capillary teaching among local schools, bringing the theme of the importance of bees to the school benches, as a cross-curricular 'subject' of study across all disciplines crossed by the shared common value of sustainability As Roberto reminds us, 'small actions lead to great results, a metaphor that the bee itself, tiny in itself, represents'. The commitment of Rotary District 2110 Sicily and Malta continues with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding called "Save the Bee - Save the Man", underlining the close bond that determines the survival of the species, in a mutual exchange of care, for the signing of a formal public document that commits the producers of the cultivation of PGI Delia Fish to carry out environmental initiatives aimed at safeguarding bees.

Indeed, the bee, at the centre of the pollination process of more than70% of our food chain, involves the interest not only of land and producers but of thefarmers themselves, who will operate mutually by activating forms of pasture protection such as the planting of nectariferous essences, the integration of Bee Hotels for osmie bees, and increasingly the transition to forms of cultivation that envisage the conscious use of agro-pharmaceuticals. Special thanks to Gaetano De Bernardis Governor for A.R. 2021-2022 and Orazio Agrò Governor of District 2110 Sicily and Malta for A.R. 2022-2023.