Pesticides are everywhere. They’re in playgrounds, parks and in our local areas – and they’re killing bees and other pollinators. In the past 20 years there’s been a 60% decline in the UK’s flying insect population and this affects all of us – it’s putting our food supply and the UK’s nature and biodiversity at risk.

A third of British wild bees and hoverflies are in decline and a quarter of European species are at risk of extinction. Bee losses are particularly concerning because they are more efficient pollinators than other animals. But we can stop the decline and help UK bees thrive.

France banned all pesticide use in towns and cities almost a decade ago, while countries across the EU have stopped pesticides being used in urban areas. This year the UK Government finally banned the emergency use of bee-killing pesticides in UK farming. Now they must go further and ban pesticides in our local areas too, to help protect bees and their natural habitats.