Much of the problem is that with Ireland’s ever-growing urban landscape, the bees no longer have enough area to nest, or sufficient food to eat. Much of the area available to them has heavy use of pesticides.

Why does this matter?

90% of the 369,000 flowering plant and crop species are dependent on insect pollination, with 35% being pollinated by bees. One honeybee can usually visit 50-1000 flowers in a trip – that’s about 10,000 flowers in a day! Many animal species depend on bees for their survival as their food sources including nuts, berries, seeds, and fruits would be unavailable without the Bee’s pollination. Along with making food for other organisms, pollination also allows floral growth which in turn provides homes for other animals such as insects and birds.

The team at Chris Mee Group recently took some time away from their desks to do some Guerrilla Gardening. We purchased packets of “Save the Bees” wildflower meadow mixed seeds from Future Orchard Cork. It’s really easy – you just scruff the ground, sprinkle the seeds and firm the soil with a footprint! Once in bloom, the brightly coloured annual and biennial flowers will attract butterflies, bees and other insects.

     5 Things You can do to save our bees

1. Don’t have a garden? Even if you have a small balcony you can grow flowers and herbs in plant pots.
2. When planning your Garden, plant flowers and shrubs that will flower in spring or autumn.
3. When gardening, consider leaving an area uncut to allow daisies, dandelions and other flowers to grow.
4. Have a little more space? Plant fruit trees!

Sources:

• https://www.earthday.org/campaigns/endangered-species/bees/?gclid=CjwKCAjw04vpBRB3EiwA0IieanA2PWnXT2TwMtaLLW7MqxcboBfQrL-OCw5xDv2x7KylPII4_HtDkBoCnXoQAvD_BwE#action
• https://spunout.ie/life/article/simple-steps-help-save-bees

A new Microbeads Prohibition Bill is at committee stage in the Dáil, where the amendment will be debated. The bill will restrict the sale, supply, or manufacturing of products which rinse down the drain, such as shower gels and scrubs. While Ireland is not the first European country to ban these products, Ireland will be the first to include household cleaning items that can also be washed down the drain.  Products that are made to be worn-on and not washed off are not affected by the Bill.

What are Microbeads?

Microbeads are tiny plastics usually between 0.0004-1.24 mm wide and are made from polyethylene, polypropylene or polystyrene.

Why are Microbeads bad?

Due to their minute size, once washed down your drain these micro sized plastic balls have the ability to pass through sewage treatment plants unfiltered and end up in fresh waters and oceans. This can prove hazardous for fish and animals who mistake the plastic for food and from there, the beads are integrated into the food chain.

Carbon Action – part of Chris Mee Group are a leading provider of environmental related Carbon Training & Climate Change Consultancy services in UK, Ireland & abroad. Our clients range from large multinationals to SMEs. If you have any questions regarding Microbeads please do not hesitate to contact one of our experienced Consultants by filling in the enquiry form on this page.

Read more on Microbeads here: Microbeads : A massive issue! The countdown to the bead ban begins!

Source:

https://www.her.ie/news/ireland-become-first-eu-country-ban-microbeads-shower-gels-scrubs-cleaners-469754

Having successfully completed your IIRSM approved course, you will receive a discount code for :
15% off Your first year’s affiliate subscription

Or
Your application Fee (£50) waived if joining as an associate or full member.

What is the IIRSM?

The International Institute of Risk and Safety Management IIRSM is a professional body that offers recognition, information and support to over 8,000 members around the world in all areas of risk and safety management.

What is the benefit to being a member IIRSM?

All members of IIRSM have access to an extensive range of relevant, valuable features and benefits. These benefits can include:

• Networking opportunities
• Unlimited use of the Health and Safety Technical Helpline
• Legal Helpline (UK law and covers all matters, including H&S)
• Business or personal advice from the HR and Employment
• Free access to the Health and Safety at Work online
• And much more

IIRSM approved online courses available through Chris Mee Group include:

• Abrasive Wheels 
• Assessing Display Screen Equipment
• Behavioural Safety 
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 
• CDM Awareness 
• Display Screen Equipment Awareness
• Electrical Safety
• Emergency First Aid at Work – Online Annual Refresher
• Manual Handling Awareness
• Noise Awareness
• Introduction to Personal Safety for Lone Workers 
• Introduction to Risk Assessment
• Working in Confined Spaces
• Working Safely
• Workplace Health and Safety

Sign up to any of these courses by clicking on the course name.

For more information on Online training please fill in the form below and a member of our support team will contact you as soon as possible.

Planning to use a Carbon Footprint Calculator to measure your emissions? You can just fill in a questionnaire on one of the many Carbon Footprint Calculators available online.. Easy, right?  WRONG. There’s much more to take into account.

How accurate is, or can a  Carbon Footprint Calculator be?

To put in to perspective – If you want to get a Real idea of your Carbon Footprint you will have to take so many things into account

Take your food for example, if you had a steak for dinner last night to get the true Greenhouse Gas emissions associated with your  you must calculate each and every resource that it took to:-

• Feed that cow
• Methane released when said cow exhaled throughout its lifetime
• The use of synthetic fertilizers and the use of slurry as a fertilizer
• The production, transportation and use of veterinary products
• The use of fossil fuels on the farm for heating and farm machinery
• The use of electricity on the farm
• Refrigeration use on farm
• Transportation of the cow to the meat plant
• The processing of beef and
• Transportation of beef to the retailers
• The transport of the steak to your kitchen (don’t forget you might refrigerate the steak also)
• The cooking of your steak – either gas or electricity
• Disposal of bones and wrapping

Can you imagine following this routine for EVERY individual item you consume, the energy you use in your home, your transport, services you use and each item/good you come in contact with day to day?

How can answering a few questions on a questionnaire give an accurate representation when in reality there are so many variables to take into account?

 2019 IOSH Southern District Conference

Today, the team from Chris Mee Group are attending and exhibiting at the 2019 IOSH Southern District Conference held at the Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork.

The theme of the conference is “Navigating the road to safety“. The way that we work has changed drastically in the past decade due to technical advances. At today’s conference these changes, subsequent new challenges and the realities of current safety practices will be discussed.

Today’s conference is chaired by Herbert Mulligan, the Editor of Health and Safety Review magazine.

• Key speakers and topics at today’s event include:
• Professor Lawrence Waterman OBE discusses “What we’re doing right – how practitioners are making workplaces safer and healthier”
• Mark Cullen, Assistant Chief Executive at the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) discusses “New HSA strategy”
• Maeve O’Loughlin, Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University discusses “Challenging the identity and practice of health and safety professionals”
• Steve McGarry, Inspector at the Health and Safety Authority discusses “HSA carriage of dangerous goods inspections – what to expect”
• Dermot Carey, Director at the Safety and Training Department, Construction Industry Federation (CIF) discusses “Building mental health into the construction narrative”
• Anna Donegan, Senior Executive at The KeepWell Mark, Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec) discusses “Ibec’s KeepWell Mark – workplace wellbeing accreditation”
• Aidan Creagh, Senior Executive Engineer at Cork County Council discusses “Changes to Chapter 8of the Traffic SignsManual and the temporary traffic management document suite”
• Finbar Stapleton, Senior QEH&S Consultant at Antaris Consulting discusses “Benefits and learnings of being certified to ISO 45001 in 2018”

Established in 1995, The Southern District of IOSH Ireland Branch’s purpose is to provide a forum in the Southern region of Ireland for professionals working in all areas of health and safety and risk management to network and share ideas.

The Southern region of Ireland branch has a membership of over 400 professionals. They host many enjoyable events, both evening and half-day, for IOSH members throughout the year. They also run a number of site visits to different projects in the greater area for the benefit of their members.