The Dandelion Challenge is a Quebec initiative supported since 2021 by Miel&Co . This movement aims to raise awareness among the population about the importance of pollinating insects. Every spring, cities, organizations and citizens of Quebec are invited to delay mowing their lawns in order to offer nectar and pollen to bees thanks to the dandelions naturally present in our lawns. Thanks to this boost, bees have enough energy to start the plant pollination season and provide a third of our food!
A simple idea that went viral
"Our customers were always asking us how to help the bees, they were looking for complicated ways to do it. Many thought that you had to have a hive to help them. Paradoxically, in the spring we saw people around our honey house mowing the lawn as soon as the dandelions came out, even though they are the first source of abundant food for our bees.
The idea was there, we were going to launch the Dandelion Challenge and raise awareness among as many Quebecers as possible about the importance of pollinating insects. The movement quickly went viral!
Christina, co-founder of Miel&Co.
Highlighting the importance of bees
Every spring, thousands of yellow lawns feed pollinating insects! The population of Quebec has jumped on board with both feet and continues to do so year after year. Beekeepers have noticed that the nectar and pollen collected in abundance from dandelion flowers contributes to the spring development of bee colonies.
Since the launch of the awareness movement, millions of people have heard about the Dandelion Challenge, shared the initiative and spread the message: "Bees and other pollinating insects are important for our survival and we must act to protect them!"
FINALLY!! We are talking about pollinating insects, we are collectively becoming aware of their necessity! More than 150 newspaper articles and media interviews have been produced on the movement. This is a great source of pride for us.
Cities that are changing the way they do things
Since 2021, more than 200 cities have invited their citizens to participate in the Dandelion Challenge to support bees. 200 pioneering cities that dare to think outside the box and break with the lawn mowing habits that have been ingrained for decades.
200 Cities that are mobilizing for the protection of pollinating insects! Wow! Since 2023, these Cities have even committed themselves by registering for the Dandelion Challenge to no longer apply pesticides and to implement additional actions to protect bees and other pollinating insects.
Why did the movement grow so quickly?
Our theory is simple: because it's easy to delay mowing your lawn for a few days, everyone is capable of it, or almost ;)! It would certainly have been more difficult to challenge all of Quebec to do something specific, but the Dandelion Challenge is EASY!
The real challenge
Now, our challenge, Miel&Co., is to keep the public's attention and offer complementary solutions to help pollinating insects. Bees love dandelion and this plant contributes greatly to their spring development, but it is necessary to think about the future, pollinating insects must feed on diversified foods until next winter and for that, we must help them!
Propose solutions
We offer different ways to help bees on the Dandelion Challenge website .
- Participate in the Dandelion Challenge
- Planting flowers to help bees
- How to help bees and other pollinating insects
- Transform your lawn into an eco-lawn
During the summer season, we also welcome visitors interested in the fascinating world of bees to our honey house and offer guided beekeeping tours. To protect pollinating insects, we must first learn about them and this is what we offer.
Mon défi, convaincre quelques voisins de ce changement de mentalité. Félicitations 🎊