Bees provide us with the food we love and enjoy, and now our food system is being threatened by local authorities who still decide to spray flowers with herbicides and pesticides. This petition calls on the Parish Councils of Cotford and Bishops Lydeard to stop all spraying of herbicides and pesticides by contractors and instead to use the money to improve education on the importance of conservation and environmental protection.

Estimates suggest we rely on honey bees to pollinate up to two-thirds of the food on our plates. Pollinators cannot read road signs! And if they land on flowers that have been sprayed, they inevitably take these chemicals back to their nests and poison themselves and the whole colony.

Contractors spray close to schools, play areas, green spaces where communities enjoy recreational use. Toxic herbicides and pesticides have long been established as having proven links to rises in asthma rates, cancer, neurological problems such as light sensitivity in people, nerve damage, autoimmune diseases and many more. We can protect our communities’ health by joining forces and stopping the spraying of herbicides and pesticides. 

Residents were recently asked if they would like to see more wildflower meadows and wild areas around the village and most responses seemed in favour. However the same councils are failing to recognise Springtime is a critical time for insect foragers, bumblebee species coming out of winter hibernation. They are making references to wildflowers which bees depend on being called ‘weeds’ as if they do not understand that wildflowers are weeds.

Dandelions, clover, daisies, are just some of the wildflowers on roadside verges and public areas, which are about to be sprayed in herbicides. These are vital foraging plants for pollinators. Dandelions are in their full glory at the moment and it would be criminal to allow contractors to proceed.
 
Recent initiatives to re-establish natural habitat for pollinators, invertebrates and others are under threat once again by the same Parish Councillors by their authorisation of contractors to spray toxic herbicides to ‘clean up’ verges and other areas around Cotford St Luke and Bishops Lydeard in Taunton. This isn’t acceptable.

The Councils themselves declared a *Climate Emergency* recently but don’t seem to understand this means they have to change processes and their model of ‘business as usual’ to a new and better way of doing things.  

This petition, therefore, aims to facilitate one small change, but which can make a HUGE difference to species we depend upon for our food and indeed our own health. Please CEASE all spraying of herbicides and pesticides by contractors immediately and permanently.    

As a natural beekeeper, my own bees will be out pollinating local food sources in surrounding fields around Parish Councils of Cotford and Bishops Lydeard this summer. Please don’t kill them, they do not know which ‘weeds’ have been sprayed and which haven’t. They cannot read the signs and don’t participate in social media as they are too busy providing you with your food. Please sign and share this petition if you want to protect people’s health and protect the bees. 

Thank you!