BUMBLEBEE SURVEY

As part of the extensive conservation work ongoing across our farms, we are keen to do our bit in helping the declining numbers of bumblebees seen across the country. We are passionate about creating a countryside that is productive and bursting with wildlife and are constantly monitoring the pollinators on the land. We want to ensure that our sustainable practices employed on the farm are making a difference to help prove farming with nature is viable and working. 

 

Gill Jenkins from Bumblebee Conservation is a regular visitor to the farm to carry out BeeWalks, a volunteer monitoring scheme which involves ‘BeeWalkers’ walking the same fixed route once a month between March and October. They count the bumblebees seen and identify them to species and caste (queen, worker, male) where possible, and then use the data to analyse population trends. The information collected is integral to monitoring how bumblebee populations change through time, and allows the detection of early warning signs that the population is declining.

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After recent walks this spring, we are delighted that the counts demonstrate the success of the innovative environmental work so far undertaken. A transect of 1-2km would normally take a BeeWalker an hour to cover, but there were so many bumblebees and other pollinators it took over 2 hours to complete and over 50 bumblebees recorded.