It might not be the first thing you think of when you sit down for a meal, but there’s every chance that a bee had a hand in getting that food to your plate.
Pollinating over 40% of plants, bees are responsible for one in every three bites of food we take.
But their numbers are in decline.
In the past 60 years, the number of honey bee colonies has fallen drastically from six million to two-and-a-half million present.
Climate change, pesticides, and the destruction of natural habitats are predicted to cause global bee populations to drop by two thirds by the year 2050.
Human numbers, meanwhile, continue to grow, with the world’s population set to continue increasing rapidly over the next decade - and demand for food and other resources far outstripping natural supplies.
We can’t fathom a life without bees, and need to ensure their populations can increase with ours.
In 2017, after working with a transformative bee research project and learning more about the state of the global honey bee population, Galen Driver was inspired to act - and to preserve this precious resource for future generations.
A sprout of a children’s book idea grew into bringing together his favourite musicians, actors, writers and contemporary artists to collaborate on original children’s poems and works of art with one goal in mind: to help protect the world’s bees through the power of words.