SinCH is proud to be linked with local Bumblebee Conservation Trust volunteers and over 50 people attended our evening talk last year given by local expert Ron Rock.
Ron is kindly running a Bee Safari for SinCH on Sunday 20th August at the Wildlife Trust at Wolseley Bridge. Meet at the gatehouse near the entrance at 10.45 for 11.00 start. No equipment is needed apart from some stout shoes.
With luck on our side, we could spot up to 10 species including some of the cuckoo bumblebees too!
The BumbleBee Conservation Trust is running a big campaign called Bee the Change which all about simple, quick ways you can make your postcode more bumblebee-friendly. So Let’s Bee the Change!
By the way, if you missed Ron’s talk last year a summary is available in our blog here.
What’s the problem?
According to the the RHS:
“Some bumblebee and solitary bee species are doing well and have increased their distribution in Britain. Others have shown marked declines in distribution over the last 30 years Bumblebees and solitary bees that are able to collect nectar and pollen from a wide range of plants, including garden flowers, are thought to be maintaining their numbers and distribution. It is species that are more selective in their flower-visiting habits, or have special requirements for nest sites, that have declined and now have a more restricted distribution.”
Key causes of decline which we can tackle include loss and fragmentation of nesting and foraging habitats. Agricultural pesticides are also a major problem.
BumbleBees don’t travel very far and will struggle if they can’t find sufficient nectar locally – a bumblebee with a full stomach is only ever about forty minutes flight time from starvation!
What can we do to help?
The Trust publishes an awesome on-line resource covering all aspects of bees and how to support them which includes:
- All about bumblebees
- How to identify bees
- Wildlife gardening advice
- Planting guides – August
- What to do throughout the seasons – Summer
- How sow wildflowers
- How to make seed balls
- Creating a community greenspace
- And much, much more
- Check all this out at Let’s Bee the Change!
What you do for bumblebees can also work for other pollinators such as honey bees, hoverflies and moths.
Why not help by saving some seeds?
We are asking SinCH members to increase the pollinator-friendly plants in their gardens by saving your own seed and by sharing surplus seed with others. July is a great time to start with species such as Aquilegia, Sweet Williams and Foxgloves.
Harvested seed will need to be safely stored until sowing. Good advice can be found at the RHS here.
Please bring your spare seeds along to any of our events. A good video on the importance of seed swapping can be seen here at Seedy Sunday’s website.
Great pollinators such as Aquilegias and Foxgloves can be sown in August but for for many species, including wildflower mixes, sowing is best delayed September/October or next spring.
But please don’t sow seed indiscriminately as we need to take a considered approach to what’s needed where – nature needs the right plant in the right place!
Growing Your Own
Another great way of saving money is to save your own vegetable seed – a good resource on this can be found at the Garden Organic website here.
Don’t forget that fruit and veg plants require pollinators and that many are a great source of nectar for insects.
Why not go further and join the Heritage Seed Library which conserves vegetable seed which are “open pollinated” rather than F1 hybrids so they will come true each time you share collected seed.
Many older varieties have been discontinued by the big seed companies but we badly need to retain as much diversity in the food chain as possible.
As a Seed Library member you get to choose 6 varieties from the annual list. Their list often includes seeds with fascinating histories and many handed down within families for generations. Amongst the authors favourites are the Cherokee Trail of Tears bean, Uncle Bert’s Kale and the Giant Tree Tomato.
Want to get more involved?
- SinCH is working in the community to improve habitats and biodiversity in the villages and we are looking for local flower and tree seed to use so please help us if you have sources.
- We are also using a phone app to build up a picture of the flora and fauna w ehave locally – please see our blog on Getting Closer to Nature for more details.
- If you are interested in our Space for Nature work please contact us at info@sinch.earth or use our contact form.
