Bees are the most important pollinators in nature and
a great part of the food in our diet rely to some extent on bee pollination.
Many crops, such as almonds cannot get by without helps from the bees. However
with the increased use of pesticides, changes in climate as well as
disappearing of green spaces, bee population has been recently declining.
The loss of bees has had a negative impact on the
agriculture industry throughout the world, bringing about the impending
possibility of a wide-scale food shortage crisis. Without these little
pollinator helpers, our dinner plates would definitely be far less
colourful, not to mention less nutritious too.
Melvita was created from the inspiration of a professional beekeeper and
biologist, and is extremely aware of this ecological drama. In fact the name Melvita comes from the juxtaposition of
two Latin words: "mel", meaning "honey", and
"vita", meaning "life". It refers to the extraordinary work
of bees, which represent a coming-together of the plant and animal kingdoms.
As part of this year’s earth month’s initiative, Melvita
Malaysia decided to save the bees by organizing a fun-filled visit to Happy Bee
Farm in Genting Highlands. The visit is Melvita Malaysia’s third locally-based
green initiative. A total of 27 media representatives took part in this
meaningful occasion.
With this visit, Melvita Malaysia hopes that the media, customers and
public will be able to understand how bees play an extremely important role in
maintaining the balance of the earth’s ecology. Apart from educating the public
on the recent bee environmental crisis with bee colonies depleting each year, Melvita
would also like to highlight the brand’s foundation commitment to
safeguard the future of bees. Melvita Foundation pledges to take part in any
studies or initiatives that may help put a stop the disappearance of the bees, as
well as to promote beekeeping.
The
fun-filled event began with all media participants being taken on a live-bee education
tour by Happy Bee Farm’s consultant – Mr. Eric Chan, where he showed how a
local bee farm is being operated. He then explained every aspect of beekeeping:
from setting up a suitable wooden box beehive, to collection of nectar, and
finally the process of extracting raw honey.
Everyone also had the opportunity to watch a
demonstration of how raw honey is collected from its honeycomb before tasting
it. Besides honey, Eric mentioned that there are many other
bee products that are beneficial to mankind and are often used as popular
dietary supplements. These include beeswax,
royal jelly
(a substance secreted from the hypopharyngeal glands of young worker bees) and
propolis, a resinous substance honey bees use to seal cracks in the hive.
Eric moved on to the bee education area, where a
variety of real bees’ specimens, both stingless and dangerous bees, and wasp
specimens were displayed here. He elaborated further on bees’ ecological life
system, their important role of pollination in flower ecology, and other
bee-related information such as tools and equipment for breeding. Many parts of
the walls surrounding the bee education displays were derived from the beehive
honeycomb structure to demonstrate bee farm’s effort towards beekeeping.
In
addition to bees, Happy Bee Farm is also home to many species of butterflies
and insects such as beetles and lizards. During the tour, everyone had the chance
to get up close and personal with nature, as they witnessed fluttering
colourful butterflies roaming around the outdoor rainforest area busy
collecting nectar, and witnessed many live attractions of insect specimens with
peculiar natural forms, colour and sizes.
After the tour, it was a flurry of excitement during the “Plant for the
Bees” activity and “Bee Hive Painting” activity, where everyone got to try
their hand at planting flowers in recycled used tyres and at painting wooden
bee hives.
To
create this pollinator-friendly garden, Melvita has thoughtfully selected Lavender,
Mint, Roses and Hibiscus plants. These bee-friendly plants are amongst the
signature ingredients of Melvita, which can be found in:
Lavender
Floral Water, Lavender Shea Butter, Gentle Purifying Shampoo, Extra-soft Foot Cream,
Fresh Breath Toothpaste, Organic Rose Beauty Mist, Rose Floral Water, Rose
Cranberry Cream Soap, Rose Extraordinary Water, Wild Rose Soap Bar, Nectar Pur
range of products, Rose Nectar range of products, Pulpe de Rose range of
products and Floral Bouquet range of products.
Painting
wooden bee hive, on the other hand, will help protect the hives from bad
weather, wear and tear, as well as termites, so that they can last longer. Creativity
was unleashed as everyone dressed up their beehives with Melvita’s elements
such as bees. Some press even whipped up new paint colours to make the bee
hives more colourful! Both activities will offer a site for honeybees to find
shelter and forage throughout the year, subsequently promoting beekeeping.
Participants then
sat down to a “honey-licious” lunch prepared by the staff at the bee farm. Melvita
Malaysia retail operations and training manager Ms. Coco Lee thanked everyone
for their support in making the event a meaningful outing while learning more
on the brand.
“Bees are very close to the hearts of Melvita
and as a brand which protects nature and safeguard bees, Melvita has set up Melvita
Foundation in 2010, where the foundation supports any actions or initiatives
that aim to safeguard the future of bees by taking part in any studies or
initiatives that may help put a stop to their disappearance, protect their
habitat and promote the development of beekeeping throughout the world. In
the past four years, Melvita has sponsored the construction of 223 new beehives, created 26 bee-friendly areas, provided
training for 61 beekeepers, and
conducted 9 Studies/Conferences dedicated to the plight of bees. Today’s bee
farm visit is part of our pledge to help the local community realize how
important it is to self-initiate an effort to make the earth a better place for
our bees to live in.” she said during her short speech.
On
a global effort, one of the recent efforts supported by Melvita Foundation
is the project led by Friends of the Earth in London, United Kingdom. This major
campaign launched was called “The Bee
Cause”, whereby their objective is not only to encourage bees to live in urban
environments by creating havens for bees, but also to provide food for bees by
encouraging people to plant wild flowers. In just two years, the objective has
been more than met! Some 70 bee
worlds have been planted, i.e. 3,276m² for bees and
pollinating insects!
In conjunction with this meaningful occasion,
Melvita Malaysia also launched the new Apicosma Soothing Cream, specially-tailored
to the needs of dry and sensitive skin. The main ingredients for this product are
3 types of honey complex, which comprises of Thyme honey, Orange Blossom honey
and Acacia honey. Honey has always been at the heart of many developments at Melvita.
In fact over a third of Melvita products contain bee products. Clearly the
beehive is bursting with beneficial ingredients!
When asked about their thoughts on the new soothing cream, all participants
liked the silky smooth texture enveloped in a very delicate scent of the cream.
Products for sensitive skin often have bland, scentless formulas. Coco then
explained that Melvita Research & Development were determined to let
sensitive skin enjoyed the excellent sensorial qualities without the risk of
allergic reactions. Therefore for the first time, Melvita blended a concoction
of fresh notes from organic plant ingredients and came up with this pleasant
scent.
Participants
expressed thanks to Melvita for giving them the opportunity to learn so much
about bees and beekeeping. They also realised that doing their part to help the
bees does not necessarily have to be an elaborate or extravagant affair. With
small efforts around the home, such as planting flowers in the gardens or
cutting out the usage of pesticides, they too can contribute to our joint
effort in saving the bees!
Do
you know the plight of bees? Some interesting facts….
There are over
20,000 species of bees in the world
Bees have existed on
Earth for almost 80 million years
Pollinating
insects generate 65% of our food diversity
85% of flowering plants
depend on insects for pollination
To
produce a single kilogram of honey, bees have to visit some 500,000 flowers and
fly some 40,000 km – equivalent of the Earth’s circumference
Bees carry out 80% of
pollination
The collapse of bee
colonies: since 2000, the bee mortality rate per hive in winter has risen from
40% to 60%
Melvita Boutiques
1 Mont
Kiara G-21, Ground Floor 03- 6201 2124
1
Utama
F141, 1st Floor 03-7710 1877
Mid Valley G-001A, Ground Floor 03-2282 2166
Facebook: @Melvita Malaysia
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