LONDON, June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Passionate pioneers of organic living, Neal's Yard Remedies has teamed up with activist and campaigner, Sam Roddick to launch the Bee Lovely and Help Save the Bees campaign which aims to highlight the alarming decline of our precious pollinators in the UK and inform, inspire and empower people to help fight to save them.

Bee Lovely Bee Symposium - Wednesday 29^th June 2011

Kicking off the campaign, Neal's Yard Remedies is holding the Bee Lovely Bee Symposium at Sheepdrove Organic Farm, home of NYR owner, Peter Kindersley.  

The symposium, hosted by Neal's Yard Remedies and Sam Roddick will include guest speakers from a wide range of environmental organisations including The Natural Bee Keeping Trust, BugLife, Soil Association, LandLife, PAN UK, Bio Bees, Client Earth and the UK Pesticides Campaign. They will address the problems facing bees and what can be done to re-generate the UK bee population.

Bee Lovely and Help Save the Bees Petition - July - October 2011

As well as raising awareness for the plight of the bees, the Bee Lovely Bee Symposium will launch a petition to ban the use of the powerful pesticides, neonicotinoids (neonics) in the UK.  

Using new technology, neonics penetrate the plant and attack the nervous system of insects that feed off them - posing a deadly threat to all pollinators. Neonics are 7000 times more toxic than DDT, a chemical pesticide the UK government banned in 1984.

The petition will be taken to Downing Street in October and supporters will be able to sign it either in person at NYR stores nationwide or via the website http://www.nealsyardremedies.com /bee-lovely.

Winni-bee-go Bee Van - 5^th and 6^th July 2011    

Commissioned exclusively for the campaign, the Neal's Yard Remedies 'Winni-bee-go' Bee Van will be buzzing round the streets of London on Tuesday 5^th and Wednesday 6^th July.

The Winni-bee-go will visit some of Neal's Yard Remedies' London stores where customers can hop on board on to pick up their free Bee Lovely and Help Save the Bees Book and enjoy a hand massage with the Bee Lovely Hand Cream.

Bee Lovely and Help Save the Bees Book - August 2011

Guest edited by Sam Roddick, the exclusive new Bee Lovely and Help Save the Bees Book will coincide with the launch of the limited edition Bee Lovely Hand Cream.

The Bee Lovely and Help Save the Bees Bookdetails the problems facing UK bees and why they are disappearing.  It addresses the issues surrounding pesticides and the effects they are having on our natural pollinators, highlighting easy steps the public can take to help re-generate the UK bee population.

The Bee Lovely and Help Save the Bees Book is free to all customers from all NYR stores nationwide from August.

Bee Lovely Hand Cream - August 2011

The limited editionBee Lovely Hand Cream has been specially created for the campaign and£1 from every product sold will go to Neal's Yard Remedies' charities of choice - BugLife, LandLife and Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN).

The Bee Lovely Hand Cream features a custom blend of organic honey and orange essential oil to gently nourish the hands and lift the spirits. Sold in Neal's Yard Remedies stores nationwide and via the website http://www.nealsyardremedies.com /bee-lovely from August 1st.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Neal's Yard Remedies

This year, Neal's Yard Remedies is celebrating 30 years since opening its doors to the very first store in Neal's Yard, Covent Garden.

With its passion for natural, ethical, holistic health and beauty, Neal's Yard Remedies has worked tirelessly to become a world leader of organic beauty whilst transforming people's lives by empowering them to live more healthily through the power of nature.

Neal's Yard Remedies is proud to be a great little company. A small, independent, British, family-owned company with a big reputation for world class products.

Bee Lovely Bee Symposium

The Bee Symposium will address the problems facing bees, their dramatic decline and what can be done to re-generate the UK's bee population.  Hosted by NYR and Sam Roddick, the guest speakers are as follows:

Heidi Hermann - The Natural Bee Keeping Trust

Nick Mole - Pesticide Action Network (PAN)

Vicky Kindemba - Bug Life

Phil Chandler - Bio Bees

Peter Melchett - Soil Association

Vito Buinsante - Client Earth

Richard Scott - Land Life

Georgina Downs - UK Pesticides Campaign

Neonicotinoids

Governments and leading experts around the world recognise that a group of particularly powerful pesticides - neonicotinoids are at the heart of why the bees are disappearing. Using new technology, neonics penetrate the plant and attack the nervous system of insects that feed off them - posing a deadly threat to all pollinators. The French banned neonics in 2000 after determining, through extensive studies, that even with small doses these pesticides disoriented bees and impaired their foraging ability. Italy, Germany, Slovenia followed suit and banned sales of two varieties of neonics.

DDT is a chemical pesticide that was used widely across Britain, Europe and the US - until it was shown to have chronic effects on the nervous system, liver, kidneys and immune system. It was banned in Britain in 1984. Neonicitinoids are 7,000 times more toxic than DDT.

Bug Life - http://www.buglife.org.uk

Land Life - http://www.wildflower.co.uk

PAN - http://www.pan-uk.org

SOURCE Neal's Yard