TREE-PLANTING EVENT FOR HONEYBEES

[Anchor Lead]

Honeybees have been disappearing recently all across the country. In marking 77th Arbor Day, the Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Government held a tree-planting event yesterday to create homes for honeybees.

[Pkg]

Tree saplings are placed in pits and tamped down with soil. Children who came with their grandmother get busy with a hoe.

[Soundbite] "Tamp down on this. I brought some soil."

The sister holds a sapling while the brother tamps down the ground. A tree has just been planted.

[Soundbite] Lee Jun-bok : "It was fun planting trees. (What was most fun about it?) Tamping down on the ground."

Five hundred honey-source trees such as the Oriental resin and Oriental strawberry trees were planted here on Arbor Day. Honey-source trees refer to the trees that bear lots of flowers and honey, providing honey bees with an ample source of food. In recent years, up to more than 90% and an average of over 10% of honeybees in bee farms have died. This prompted the Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Government to create a forest of honey-bearing trees and preserve the ecosystem.

[Soundbite] Ahn Gyu-won(Forest Management Team, Chungnam Provincial Gov’t) : "Climate change is causing honeybees to disappear. The provincial Gov't has planted honey trees to create a forest and protect the bees."

A drone is used to plant saplings on rough terrains. Drones capable of carrying a 15-kilogram load would make it easier to oversee the honeybee colonies in remote locations.

[Soundbite] Park Jae-ho(CEO, Forest Drone Company) : "Drones can play many roles in forestry like transporting saplings, and forecasting and preventing pests and diseases."

The disappearance of honeybees, a vital player in crop pollination, is fatal to the existence of human beings. Continuous tree-planting efforts are needed to counter climate change that threatens both nature and mankind.