Practical workshop "design flower strips consciously"

In addition to honey bees, hoverflies, butterflies and beetles, there are almost 700 wild bee species in Austria that are responsible for pollination and thus for the propagation of native plants when collecting pollen and nectar. In addition to maintaining species-rich habitats, insects also play another important role in the balance of nature. They are the basis of food for many other animals. Predators such as spiders, bats, birds or reptiles. If these predators lack food resources, their populations will decline. The decline in insect diversity therefore has far-reaching consequences for the ecological balance. Every animal and every plant has its special task in this balance, which often cannot be taken over by other species. When we protect and promote insects, we also ensure the survival of wild plants and numerous animal species. Promoting insects means that we create and maintain food and habitats for them.

Around 85% of all agricultural yields depend on the pollination activity of all insects. These include above all fruit, vegetables or arable crops such as rapeseed, pumpkins or sunflowers. Honey bees cover at most one third of the total pollination service, two thirds are provided by wild bees and other insects. While the honey bees are cared for by the beekeeper, many of the other insects are dependent on themselves and a species-rich nature with suitable retreats. For generations, agriculture only works in harmony with nature and a functioning ecosystem and not against it.

Flowers as food: But while honey bees accept a wide variety of flowers as a source of pollen, many wild bees and other insects are very choosy. They are highly specialized and often rely on pollen from a single plant species to feed their offspring. This specialization also makes it clear why it is so important that many different flowering plants are available for wild bees. Only a species-rich and native flowering range can feed numerous species with their different requirements and ensure their survival.

Natural structures as habitat, retreats and nesting sites: Alone with abandoned piles of wood, old fruit trees, flowering strips, rarely mowed embankments and dry G'stetten important habitats for many valuable insect and plant species are preserved. About half of all wild bee species lay their eggs in burrows they have dug in the ground. In addition to sandy, open ground, the brood tubes of some species can also be created in dried plant stems. Suitable nesting sites for wild bees must not be too far from food sources. In order to fill the brood cells with food, wild bees often need several hundred flowers and have to fly back and forth between their nest and the flowers accordingly. The effort to take care of the nests increases with increasing distance and fewer offspring are produced or they are attacked by parasites if the females are absent for a long time. It becomes difficult for many insects when the maximum distance between the nest and the food source is more than 300 meters. This means that everything that insects need to survive - hedgerows, flowering areas, sandy areas, dead wood, piles of rocks - on less productive areas should be evenly distributed over the landscape to promote biodiversity.

In August 2020, our farmers as part of the project "We build for diversity" funded by the federal government, the federal states and the EU, in which WOERLE is a project partner, together with our cheese dairy and the ÖKL as project sponsor, with the support of Salzburg Chamber of Agriculture, representatives of State government, the  Machine Ring Salzburg and students of HBLA Ursprung created a new flowering meadow. Together, a flowering area of ​​2.000 square meters, which corresponds to about 3 tennis courts, was created on the Weissl family's farm! Many thanks to our speakers Dipl.-Ing. Matthias Greisberger, BEd (Salzburg Chamber of Agriculture) and Manfred Tanner (Machinery Ring Salzburg). Now it's time to be patient until the first plants grow .. blooming pictures will follow ..