Saving the sound of summer – Pollinating the Peak campaign launches

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Richard Bunting

A major Peak District-based campaign to help bumblebees launches today (Thursday 30 April 2015) with a unique Pollination Conference in Chesterfield and the arrival of a stunning bumblebee wood sculpture at the town’s world-famous Crooked Spire.

The three-year Pollinating the Peak initiative – run by Bumblebee Conservation Trust with Chatsworth, Chesterfield Borough Council, HSG UK, Little Green Space, Moors for the Future Partnership and Plain Green – will involve communities in conservation and creating bee habitats, and encourage people to take part in BeeWalk, a national bumblebee recording scheme.

If successful, the campaign will be rolled out in other areas of the UK by Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a conservation charity dedicated to securing the future of the country’s bumblebees.

“Bumblebees keep us healthy by pollinating our fruit and vegetables, but they’re in trouble. Their populations have crashed, with some species already extinct and others threatened. We want to raise awareness about these iconic insects and how we can all help save the sound of summer,” said Gill Perkins, Bumblebee Conservation Trust conservation manager.

The all-day Pollination Conference at Chesterfield’s Winding Wheel Theatre – to be opened by the town’s Mayor, Alexis Diouf – features interactive workshops, beekeeping and cookery demonstrations, children’s activities, films, and bees working in a ‘bumblearium’.

Speakers and guests include former Peak District National Park Authority chief executive Jim Dixon, pollination scientist from Dublin’s Trinity College Erin Jo Tiedeken, writer and entomologist Tim Gardiner, Bumblebee Conservation Trust chief executive Lucy Rothstein, and other experts. Acclaimed author William Kirk will speak about gardening for bees and will be signing copies of his book, Plants for Bees.

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Help record the UK’s bumblebee population – Upload your photos

Have you ever wondered which bumblebees roam your garden?
June 2012. Scientists and conservationists are calling for the public's help to map the UK's bumblebee population - all you need is a digital camera. Though acknowledged as some of nature's most important pollinators, relatively little is known about the geographical spread of these insects.

Bee maps
With the help of the public it is hoped that the bumblebee maps - showing their locations across the country - can be significantly improved. To make it easy, a new web tool has been developed by environmental and computing scientists at the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT). By taking part, participants will add dots to the map and will learn how to identify the species around them.

Dr René van der Wal from the University of Aberdeen's School of Biological Sciences explained: "Bumblebees have a unique ecology which make them not only fascinating creatures, but also one of nature's most important pollinators, playing a vital role in the fruiting of many of the UK's plants. However, there are big holes in our knowledge about where to find some species, and how their populations may be changing over time.

Photograph the bees in your garden
"We are calling on the public to help us fill this gap in knowledge by taking pictures of bumblebees in their gardens and then uploading them to the BeeWatch system on the Bumblebee Conservation Trust website."

Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/uk-bumblebees.html