24/04/2026
Last spring, near our local park, we asked a walker, carrying two bread bags overflowing with dandelions why she had taken them. Apparently, she read a post in a local community group on social media urging folk to gather 2KG and mix them up with water, to create a drink. She looked like she was going to cry when we explained how important they are to pollinators.
A few days later, another local woman we know was moaning because she watched from her window (overlooking the park) as someone else remove every single dandelion from a footpath adjoining the local park. She wanted them. She had also read the post in her local community group. Our message to the second lady is the message below and it's the message we need to get out to everyone.....
After winter, queen bumblebees and other pollinators are exhausted and need urgent access to sustenance, dandelions offer that "lifeline" and essential early nutrition. Their lives literally depend on them finding food before their energy is gone. Queen bumblebees will often overwinter in an area where they know they will have dandelions on their doorstep when they awaken. Imagine them waking up and seeing nothing except grass and having no idea if they will have the energy to go and try to search further afield?
Leaving dandelions in spring is crucial because they are among the first food sources available for hungry bees waking from hibernation. They provide vital early nectar (energy) and pollen (protein) when few other flowers are blooming. Allowing them to grow supports biodiversity and strengthens the damaged ecosystem, aiding bee survival in the future. Dandelions ARE a lifeline, for pollinators, please don't take it away (by the kilo.)
Please, please share this on your own page and in every community group you are a member of. Let's try to reverse this viral trend.
