Giving Back 1%: Save the Date, Sow the Seed

April 22: Earth Day / National Planting Day

We have been keeping up with our “Giving back 1% to nature” donations, and we have another update for you! We recently made our first donation of 2025, which had an unexpected twist: we’re getting something in return! Especially for World Earth Day, celebrated this year on April 22, we purchased 500 packets of flower seeds from The Pollinators. We’re then giving them away to you—for free with your order! The circle of life :-) You can read all about it here.

FLOWERS AND BEES

Bees and flowers are Mother Nature’s dream team. If one of these two drops out, the entire food production system on Earth comes to a standstill. As simple as that. The Pollinators is a foundation that advocates for the bee population—and that’s desperately needed.

The Pollinators:

“For decades, the number of pollinating insects has been declining sharply, and that’s not good news. Without these tiny friends, we wouldn’t be drinking apple juice or eating tomatoes. A large portion of our food depends on pollination by insects. Ecosystems cannot function without them, and the declining populations have direct negative consequences, such as the loss of biodiversity.”

When thinking about the food mentioned, look beyond fruits and vegetables—meat, dairy, and eggs may come from animals, but what do those animals eat? That’s right, plants. Need a cup of coffee to process this? It comes from the coffee plant. How about a glass of wine, then? Yeah... About 75% of the crops worldwide—grown directly or indirectly for human consumption—depend on bees for pollination.

RESTAURANT LA NATURE

Bees are just like us: they love to eat out. They’re drawn to scents and colours and feed on nectar, a sweet liquid found at the heart of the flower. Pollen sticks to their “fur” as they hop from flower to flower, and by gently brushing against the stamens, the bees pollinate the plants they visit. Yeah baby, vanilla sex ;-)

After pollination, the plants can get to work producing nuts, seeds, and fruits. A fail-safe production process—at least… as long as there are enough bees. And that’s where things threaten to go wrong: climate change, pollution, and dysfunctional ecosystems are endangering the bee population.

FEED THE BEES

By providing packets of flower seeds and encouraging people to plant them, The Pollinators Foundation aims to give the bee population a (flower) power boost. The name of this campaign: VOER DE BIJ BIJ (FEED THE BEES, a brilliant name in Dutch! Though the play on words gets lost in translation).

BEE INVOLVED: THE LEAST BORING COALITION EVER

With a generous contribution from our “Giving back 1% to nature” piggy bank—which has been well-filled thanks to you, for which we offer our thanks and applause—PLEIN PUBLIQUE has joined the National Seeding Coalition, and we’re giving away 500 packets of flower seeds from The Pollinators. Starting April 4, we’ll include a packet of seeds in every package that goes out, with the hope that you—along with many other citizens, farmers, and businesses—will sow them on April 22—EARTH DAY / DUTCH NATIONAL SOWING DAY.

Here’s how you can join the “FEED THE BEES” campaign in a nutshell:

• Place an order in the PLEIN PUBLIQUE webshop starting Saturday, April 5, and we’ll include a packet of flower seeds in your package. Note: we have 500 packets of seeds available—first come, first served*
• Start thinking about the best spot for your future flower garden. It could be your own yard or balcony, but it could also be, for example, the bare roadside where you always take a breather after your run. Or the vacant lot where you walk your dog. Just make sure your favourite spot for planting isn’t in the line of fire for overzealous city officials with a lawn trimmer fetish. You wouldn’t want your hard work to be cut down just like that.
• On April 22, tear open the packet and sow—not just flowers, but a love of nature and a chance for a better future for the bees.

* Donation made through The Pollinators Foundation. This foundation is registered with the tax authorities as an ANBI (Public Benefit Organization), which means we can deduct the donation from our taxes, and The Pollinators Foundation does not pay tax on the donation. Hands off, government. You can go dig around in the soil of your community gardens instead. That’s good for biodiversity, too. :)

More info:

The Pollinators website