White-tailed Bumblebee
This quarter we have managed to raise £118.62 for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, from the 10% we donated from our customers purchases. For this we would like to say a massive thank you to all our customers for your loyalty and support and for playing a part in helping to save our bumblebees.
This money will be donated to the BeeWalk programme, which is the BBCT's national bumblebee recording scheme and is part of their core work. Until recently there has been little data for bumblebees across the UK, in comparison to other species groups such as birds and butterflies. Established in 2008 following a successful trial, this national recording scheme is led by BBCT's Data Monitoring Officer, Dr. Richard Comont and monitors the abundance of bumblebees across the UK. This unique citizen science programme helps to gather evidence about bumblebee abundance and distribution. It involves recruiting, training and supporting volunteers to collect data on bumblebees through the summer months.
Bumblebee at Kew Gardens
BBCT provide different types of volunteer training tailored to individual’s needs, including data verification and data analyses, bumblebee identification training (beginners through to advanced), as well as on-going support and mentoring. Last year 26,000 bumblebee records were recorded and some 171 transects were walked by BeeWalk volunteers in the UK. By 2019 it is BBCT's intention to have 500 volunteer BeeWalkers supporting this vital monitoring programme. Without volunteers BeeWalk would not exist.
BBCT currently have over 550 active volunteers and their contribution to BBCT is invaluable. Our donation will help support BeeWalk and will make sure that the volunteers have the training and support they need to make a real difference to bumblebee conservation.
Thank you again to all our customers for your support. We are looking forward to being able to fund lots more exciting projects for BBCT in the future.