Bee and Herring: comedians call for a Bee Action Plan

Marie Reynolds

26 June 2013

It was the most random afternoon at work I can remember. Not only did my colleague Nithya and I get to dress as big fluffy bees and prance about in public; we also met comedians Marcus Brigstocke and Richard Herring.

They'd agreed to have their photo taken with us to support our call to Government for a Bee Action Plan - to reduce chemical use, plant wild flowers, and protect all varieties of bees.

In case you hadn't noticed, bees have been all over the news. They're massively in decline - last year, honey harvests were down by 70%. Scientists think its down to a range of factors, including disease, chemicals, habitat loss, and our unusually wet weather.

The point is, we need them. All of them (not just the cute fluffy ones!). They pollinate our fruit and veg. Without them, food prices would go up, because farmers would have to hand-pollinate crops like they do in China - at a cost of over £1.8 billion per year.

This Friday, at a summit organised by Friends of the Earth, bees Minister Lord de Mauley will announce the Government's plans to protect bees. But there's a real fear they won't be strong enough. Friends of the Earth has seen a draft, and it doesn't meet the criteria that scientists tell us are needed.

So you can imagine how excited we were to get two top comedians involved, to help us ramp up the pressure.

Before I knew it we were chasing Marcus around the park on his skateboard, hiding behind trees, sitting on park benches and wading through flowers - it all made for great photos on Twitter.

Personally, I like the shot of us as Charlie's Angels. It's pretty much the highlight of my career. 

As for Richard Herring, we just managed to catch him in the early evening before he performed in Leicester Square. He allowed Nithya and I up on the stage.

Marcus said he liked the idea of not mowing grass verges on one side of the road, in order to restore wild flowers. He also asked me if Lord de Mauley was a "good guy". I said I didn't know - it all depends on what's announced on Friday.

Right now we need as many people as possible to call for a strong Bee Action Plan, in order to make the Government listen.

More than 18,000 people have signed our petition in only 4 days. Chris Packham, Jamie Oliver, Deborah Meaden and KT Tunstall have tweeted it. I've been at Friends of the Earth for a few years now, and I can't remember anything else taking off quite like it. 

But there's always room for more - and this is our big chance to make a difference - so do tell your friends and family and please sign. 

Marie Reynolds, Communications and Media Team