BEE Friendly Farming’s popular tree grants are now open, with farmers across the country being supported to join the pledge to plant 100,000 trees for bees.
Grants of up to $10,000 are available to farmers and land managers to plant pollinator-friendly trees that are indigenous to their farms, with Bee Friendly Farming providing farmers and land managers with $1 for every tree planted, thanks to grant partners One Tree Planted and Flow Hive.
The program is administered by Wheen Bee Foundation and CEO Fiona Chambers said the tree grants support pollinators while also benefitting farmers.
“Habitat loss is one of the greatest threats to bees and other pollinators,” Ms Chambers said.
“Planting pollinator-friendly trees increases food for bees, provides essential habitat for them to breed and creates habitat corridors, reducing the distance they need to travel to forage,” she said.
“This, in turn, helps farmers with healthier, more prolific pollinators and enhanced crop pollination outcomes.”
The Bee Friendly Farming program works with farmers to help protect, preserve and promote the health of all pollinators.
This month, Bee Friendly Farming celebrated its first anniversary in Australia. In just 12 months, more than 30,000 hectares of farmland across Australia has been certified Bee Friendly Farming.
To receive a tree grant, which start at $1000, farms must be certified with Bee Friendly Farming.
This is the second year the tree grants have been offered. Last year, 17 agriculture businesses in four states received grants totaling $48,600 to plant pollinator-friendly trees.
“This grant program was extremely successful last year funding the establishment of 80 hectares of pollinator habitat across four states,” Ms Chambers said.
“We are pleased to continue our work with One Tree Planted and we are confident we can reach our new target of 100,000 trees, creating 100 additional hectares of pollinator-friendly habitat.”
Applications must be received on or before 5pm on Sunday, July 31, 2022.
To be eligible to apply for the tree grants, farms must either be a BFF certified farm or have a BFF certified application submitted and pending approval by the tree grant closing date.
