Planting for a bee friendly future
LAST year the Almond Board of Australia started a partnership with Bee Friendly Farming Australia , to promote their bee-friendly certification program that works with land managers to help protect , preserve , and promote pollinator health including both honeybees and native bees . Orchestrated by the Wheen Bee Foundation , Bee Friendly Farming aims to ensure the future of both pollinators and sustainable agriculture . The industry has so far been a great supporter of the program , with approximately 42 % of almond orchards across Australia already certified - including the ABA ' s own Almond Centre for Excellence ( ACE ) Orchard at Loxton , SA . The ABA saw the ACE Orchard as the ideal opportunity to apply , test and embrace Bee Friendly Farming principles , with the aim of sharing our learnings with other growers and land managers to encourage them to take up the program on their own properties . The criteria for bee-friendly certification includes offering floral resources to provide good nutrition for bees on at least 3 % of land . Orchards should also provide bloom of different flowering plants throughout the growing season , especially in early spring and late autumn , and ensure there ' s permanent habitat for nesting through features such as shelterbelts , wildlife corridors , natural bush , buffer strips , or bare ground . In June ABA staff were on hand to assist with the planting of native species ( pictured ) that will provide food and habitat for bees and native pollinators . A total of 350 trees and large shrubs were planted , along with 110 ground covers , over a total area of 1.2 hectares . The planting has been made possible through a Bee-Friendly Farming Tree Grant and support from the ABA .