BUZZBUZZ, the new Leura village shop is all about bees and other pollinators.
Story and photos by Linda Moon
Australian Pollinator Week 2023 is 11-19 November. And BUZZBUZZ is a new shop that has opened in Leura to champion pollinators. You can too.
Key Points:
The latest new shop in Leura is all about celebrating and raising awareness of pollinators.
Without pollinators the health of the planet is at risk.
There’s a lot that you can do to help pollinators.
What flower visitors do you owe for your chocolate bar, orange juice, smashed avo, nut trail mix, almond milk and juicy watermelon (in fact, about a third of our food supply)? You probably guessed it: pollinators.
Pollinators – for those who don’t know – are creatures that transmit pollen from the male part of flowers to the female part. Though unintentional, this action is highly significant. An essential part of plant reproduction, it enables many plants to make fruit, seeds and new plants.
Along with their vital role in our food supply, pollinators also help sustain the planet’s wildlife and the health of ecosystems.
The newest shop in Leura Mall is helping celebrate them as it opens its doors in Pollinator Week.
Bee-centric products
The creation of Joanne Day, a passionate beekeeper and former owner of Little Paris Cafe, BUZZBUZZ features unique, feel-good reminders of the value of bees and other pollinators. Along with local honey, organic chocolates and sticky chai sweetened only with raw, natural honey, there are colourful homewares, handmade jewellery, watches, potted flowers, soaps, glassware, beeswax candles, moisturisers, clothing, books and more to browse.
I’m trying to showcase as many Blue Mountains creatives as possible – Joanne Day
“There’s this wonderful woman based in Hazelbrook doing some gorgeous jewellery for me. She grows the flowers in her garden, and presses them in resin. The flowers are connected, because without the bees and all the other pollinators we don’t get so many flowers.”
BUZZBUZZ also sells bee and pollinator friendly seed packets. “You don’t have to be a beekeeper,” she says. “I’ve got so many other things in the shop.”
Joanne Day, owner of BUZZBUZZ and Sue Carney of Blue Mountains Beekeepers hope to create a buzz about bees.
Have a pollinator-friendly chat
Beyond the retail side of things, Joanne’s intention is public education and engagement. “I have a bee buddy (Sue Carney, founder and vice-president of Blue Mountains Beekeepers) working two days in the shop,” she explains. “She’s creating some amazing documents that I can hand out to people who are interested. We’ll have lots of information, things like, ‘what to do if you have a swarm’, all these reference points for people, like if you want to become beekeepers.”
Joanne has two hives of her own at her Blue Mountains home and has been practising beekeeping for nearly 10 years. “I think it will be a great place to come and have a chat,” she says. “Beekeepers, when they get together, we just talk about bees. We’re a funny lot.”
While we tend to associate bees with the European Honey Bee, there’s an estimated 2,500 different bee species (about 10 per cent of the global species) in Australia. Amazingly, a good portion of these haven’t even been named yet. And, sadly, they may become extinct before anyone discovers them.
Birds, butterflies and other pollinators
Of course, bees aren’t the only pollinators.
“I’ve also found a wonderful creative who is an entomologist and creating these museum grade specimens of butterflies,” Joanne says. (The specimens are butterflies that have passed away on butterfly farms.)
Joanne handpicks her wares to preference creatives with good sustainable business practices.
And take note local art and craftspeople: she’s had trouble locating products that showcase bats. “Bats are major pollinators,” Joanne says. “They do the night shift.”
Unique handmade beeswax candles and pollinator art, just some of the locally crafted wares at Leura’s BUZZBUZZ.
Pollinator week 2023
In the spirit of Pollinator Week, BUZZBUZZ will be gifting free pollinator info and small packets of ‘feed the bees and pollinators’ seeds to customers over 11-19th November 2023. All purchasing customers are also eligible to go into the draw for a free hamper of goodies from BUZZBUZZ.
Australian Pollinator Weekis a designated annual space for raising awareness and creating helpful community actions around pollinators.
While bees (including the wild kind) do the lion’s share of pollination, pollinators cross many unique and diverse species. This includes well-known and loved critters – birds and butterflies – and less acknowledged, unsung ones like wasps (which are related to bees), some species of flies (such as hoverflies), beetles, bats, moths, some reptiles (skinks, lizards and geckos) and some small mammals like rodents and the Australian long-nosed honey possum.
Bees are in decline and need our help.
Can you help?
Pollinators badly need our help. Surveys show their populations are in rapid decline. Over 40 per cent of insect species are at risk of extinction in the coming decades, according to a review of 73 reports on declining insect populations in the journal Biological Conservation, January 2019. Species decreasing in the greatest numbers include butterflies, moths, bees and wasps.
Key causes include pesticides, fertilisers and other agricultural chemicals, land clearing and habitat destruction (especially that caused by agriculture), plus parasites like Varroa Mite.
A 2022 study by Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health claimed the global loss of pollinators is contributing to 500,000 early deaths a year through reductions to the yield of fruit, vegetables and nuts. Such plant-based foods protect human health from disease.
The solution, according to the study authors, is to halt pesticide use, preserve and restore natural habitats and grow more flowers.
We can all make a difference in our own backyard. And, because we’re so deeply connected to pollinators, when we help them we help ourselves!
Take Action:
Visit BUZZBUZZ and get some free info. It’s located next to the Leura carpark in the Strand Arcade.
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
Join us for this fabulous workshop: Designing Your Future Home on Saturday 19 July (10am-12 noon) Create a Healthy, Comfortable and Energy-Efficient Home
Join local Passive House Designer Karina Rafailov from Earthy Haus for a relaxed, interactive, and inspiring workshop. Whether you’re planning a new build or thinking about a renovation, this session will empower you with the knowledge to create a home that’s healthier for your family and kinder to the planet.
Places are strictly limited in this hands-on workshop so bookings essential here (link in profile): https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/workshop-designing-your-future-home-tickets-1417752157869
As an increasing number of people are being affected by winter viruses, we’re offering a free session of Tai Chi and Qigong on Saturday 5 July in the warmth of our beautiful Frogs of the Blue Mountains exhibition. Places are limited so book in early here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/40fnGW2 Learn more about these Chinese medicine movement practices in the video interview with Virginia Field on our YouTube channel (link in profile) and read about how Chinese medicine helped her overcome illness as a young woman in our story: Healing Body, Mind and Spirit with Tai Chi and Qigong here (link in profile): https://www.katoombalocalnews.com/tai-chi-and-qigong/
If you’re interested in learning how to propagate native plants and are keen to help our bush regenerate, the Bushcare Seed Collectors meet on the second Tuesday of the month. Check out how they cook Banksias to release their seed and learn more about the group, and native seed collecting, in Katoomba Area Local News here (link in profile): https://www.katoombalocalnews.com/bushcare-seed-collectors/
If you’d like to join the group, contact the Bushcare officer Tracy Abbas on 4780 5623 or email [email protected]
Littlejohni, the Rare and Endangered Northern Heath Frog, photographed in Woodford!
When the Frogs of the Blue Mountains exhibition opened at the Planetary Health Centre in March it featured photos of 20 different local frogs. We were thrilled, however, when Andy Klotz and other members of the Hawkesbury Herpetological Society recently managed to photograph another frog in Woodford: the rarely seen and endangered Litoria littlejohni, also known as the Northern Heath Frog or Orange-bellied Tree Frog. We’ve added a photo of that frog to the exhibition and created a new Frogs of the Blue Mountains video in which you can listen to its call on our YouTube channel. We interviewed Andy to learn more about the Littlejohni and how they managed to find its small local population. You can read this story in Mid Mountains Local News (link in profile). #biodiversity #bluemountainsfrogs #northernheathfrog #litorialittlejohni #bluemountains #woodford #planetaryhealth #hawkesburyherpetologicalsociety...
Our newsletter is now out! Read about how you can contribute to @bluemountainscitycouncil`s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy; watch our video on Falling in Love with Glossy Black Cockatoos; see the new photos of the rare Northern Heath Frog; watch how the Bushcare Seed Collectors cook banksias to release their seeds; learn more about Tai Chi and Qigong, the Chinese medicine movement practices; and take part in our next workshop on Designing Your Future Home with Passive House Designer Karina Rafailov from @earthy_haus
Read it here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/40e4GHr
Our video on Falling In Love With Glossy Black Cockatoos is now up on our Planetary Health YouTube channel (sorry, it`s too big to share here but there`s a link in our profile).
Jayden Gunn finishes his presentation by saying:
"Care is like a snowball. The more people you tell the bigger the snowball gets, and the further it goes. And the more we know, the more we care. And the more we know, the more we`re able to help."
The video is of our fabulous Forum on Growing Connected Landscapes for the Glossy Black Cockatoo, and includes presentations by Jayden Gunn, BirdLife Australia, Amanda Foxon-Hill from Mid Lachlan Landcare, and STEM teacher Samantha Bowden from Glenbrook Public School. There`s a link with the video on how to register for the Community Tree Planting Day in Goologong on 5 July (and it`s also in our profile). Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCERdF21Ud0&t=13s
Today we`re enjoying eating ripe medlars! Medlars are attractive cold climate fruit trees that were popular in Medieval gardens. They`re one of the few fruits that can be harvested in late Autumn and eaten in early Winter when they`re fully ripe. This is a great time of year to plant them for a future harvest. Check out our short video on how to eat them! #coldclimategardens #ediblegardens #medlars #growyourown #planetaryhealth #bluemountains...
We`re thrilled to share that last night @BlueMountainsCityCouncil`s Planetary Health Centre won the Innovative Leadership Award (Population Under 150K) in the 2025 NSW Local Government Excellence Awards. What a great end to World Environment Day! 🌏 This award celebrates how local government can lead transformative change for a more sustainable future. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard with us to make our vision a reality. You can read more about what we`re doing at our website (link in profile): http://www.bluemountainsplanetaryhealth.com.au/ @ph_alliance #planetaryhealth #worldenvironmentday #localgovernmentleadership #nswlocalgovernmentexcellenceawards...
Blocking out a couple of hours a week to step off the treadmill and give ourselves time to nurture our relationship with the earth and ourselves, is one way to keep our creative spirit and ‘lust for life’ alive. If you haven’t done so yet, one opportunity over the next week is to spend some ‘slow’ time in the 2024 Wynne Prize exhibition at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre before it closes on 15 June. Read more in Katoomba Area Local News here (link in profile): https://www.katoombalocalnews.com/the-2024-wynne-prize/ @bluemountainsculturalcentre @artgalleryofnsw #wynneprize #landscapes #bluemountains #katoomba #artexhibition #planetaryhealth...
Recognising how violence and war impact the health of the planet, the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative has become a member of the Blue Mountains Peace Collective. On Sunday 25th May, we attended a presentation by Dr Keith Suter on Making Peace in the World Today at the Leura Uniting Church. In this powerful presentation Dr Suter questions why we learn about war rather than successful peace negotiations! View the video of his presentation below and read our full story in Katoomba Area Local News here: https://bit.ly/3Fl4WgQ (link in profile)
With an extra day up your sleeve this long weekend, it`s a great opportunity to give nature a hand to regenerate and provide more habitat for our fellow species! Join our fabulous all ages Planetary Health Bushcare Group from 1.30pm and then participate in the Forum on Growing Connected Landscapes for the Glossy Black Cockatoo at 4pm, followed by drinks and nibblies! You can also start the day with a fabulous Tai Chi session at 8am. Visit our Planetary Health Pluriversity website to book in and learn more (link in profile): https://bmpluriversity.org/program/
Or ring 0407 437 553 for more information. #planetaryhealth #bushcare #katoomba #bluemountains #glossyblackcockatoos #landcare #biodiversity #habitat #wearenature #togetherwecan...
In this inspiring interview with Medlow Bath resident Amanda Foxon-Hill she talks about her work with Mid Lachlan Landcare, why Growing Connected Landscapes for the Glossy Black Cockatoo is so important, and why she loves her work so much! Read the full story in Blackheath Area Local News here: https://blackheathnews.com/connecting-landscapes-for-glossy-black-cockatoos/
Book in for the Growing Connected Landscapes Forum at 4pm this Saturday 7 June here: https://events.humanitix.com/growing-connected-landscapes-for-the-glossy-black-cockatoo Register your interest for the Community Tree Planting Day in Goologong here: https://events.humanitix.com/glossy-black-cockatoo-community-tree-planting-5
Linda Moon has lived in the upper Blue Mountains since childhood and is a freelance writer for Australian media. A qualified naturopath, permaculture designer, mother and former student of social work, her passion is building local community, gardening, mental, emotional, social, housing and environmental health – all of which are linked!
Last week around 160 first year medical students were introduced to Planetary Health and Dharug culture at the Planetary Health Centre, with presentations by Professor Lynne Madden from Notre Dame, Lis Bastian from the Planetary Health Centre and Dharug man Chris Tobin.
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