Landscape Juice

Brown-banded carder bee discovered at Welsh nature reserve

A rare Brown-banded carder bee (Bombus humilis) has been discovered at the Carmel National Nature Reserve near Cross Hands in Carmarthenshire. Situated on a limestone ridge, the area was historically used for quarrying and traditional agriculture, is one of the UK’s richest wildlife areas and an internationally significant site. The resulting mixture of ancient meadows and woodlands, quarries, spoil heaps and lime kilns was declared a national nature reserve in 1999. Carmel is managed by the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) and The Grasslands Trust. Bumblebee numbers have suffered sharp decline due to intensive agricultural practices leading to a 97%... Read more →

National Lottery cash to help bumblebees

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is to support work that will look to conserve endangered bumblebees and their habitats in the UK. A grant of £340,000 has been awarded to an ambitious project by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT), based at Stirling University, that will work with landowners, farmers, the public and schools to raise awareness of the the importance of bees. The Bees for Everyone project will work throughout the UK to safeguard, restore and create valuable bumblebee habitats, but also raise public awareness of the importance of bumblebees and the problems that they face. Dr. Ben Darvill, chief... Read more →

Will Sarah Raven boost appeal of bees and wild flowers?

Will landscapers and garden designers have to look out for a burst of enthusiasm for bees, butterflies and wild flowers with the start of a new television programme on BBC2? Gardening presenter Sarah Raven is heading up a new show starting on Wednesday 21 September called Bees, Butterflies and Blooms, which aims to look into how we can help boost the number of insects and wild flowers in the UK. Known for her support of so-called rivers of flowers, the three-part programme will see Sarah Raven look into issues such as the health of bees and other insects and whether... Read more →

Wildlife-friendly gardening is not boring, says Marc Carlton

These days the essence of pollination biology has become the subject of domestic chit-chat, at least as far as bees are concerned. For one thing what happens to bees affects us all. Bees sitting on flowers are about as tangible and normal as raindrops falling from a cloud and about as essential to life, or that's what we all learn from an early age. So why then did Marc Carlton, a statistician and keen gardener, refer to studying pollination biology in 2005 as a flash of insight? It is because the stories about falling bee numbers and loss of habitat... Read more →

Beating campaign burn out with Brigit Strawbridge

Brigit Strawbridge is pondering on her use of technology, her bee survival pledge, her intensive bee studies, her journal of wildlife observations, her off-grid Sundays and her progress. She has been using her experiences to inspire people to take a step forward, to find the courage to change. One facet of her bee campaign is her own enthusiasm and example. There are many avenues for communication, so every minute of the day is purposeful. Whether journalling on her reconnection with nature or talking at conferences and festivals, networking, switching off for reclaiming Sundays or using social media to make videos... Read more →

Londoners urged to help boost bee numbers

Do your bit to help the bees of London is the message on posters and online as a campaign is launched to boost insect numbers. The Capital Bee campaign comes at a time when bee numbers are in serious decline. Chairman of the London Beekeepers' Association John Chapple was quoted in the Guardian last year as saying that out of its 150 members in the capital, they lost between a fifth and a quarter of their colonies. If you want to help boost bee numbers the campaign organisers have some simple tips to pass on. Grow your own food Plant... Read more →

What to do if you see a swarm of honeybees

If you spot honeybees swarming what can you do? Well the British Bee Keepers' Association has a section on its website that might help. At this time of year bees are often on the move as they look to establish a new home, so you may spot one when you are out and about. The Association's website features a section titled Swarm Help that helps you spot the swarming behaviour of bees, and if left to collect in trees the bees will depart. However, it is nests in out-buildings and homes that cause the most worry to people and the... Read more →

The Co-operative plans 'Bee Roads' to help insects

The Co-operative has announced the launch of a project that will look to create 'Bee Roads' to act as food-rich main routes for pollinators, writes Craig McGinty. The project forms part of the company's £750,000 Plan Bee campaign, and the first road will be built in Yorkshire, where farmers and other landowners will sow wildflowers in two long rows that will eventually stretch north to south and east to west across the county. Paul Monaghan, head of social goals at The Co-operative said: "The UK has lost an alarming 97 per cent of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s and... Read more →

Brigit Strawbridge, the bees need help

Saving the Bumblebee from Jamie-Lee Loughlin on Vimeo. “I talk about biodiversity, bees and reconnecting with Nature, but I have focused on bees because I am obsessed with them, I absolutely love bees" Carol Miers interviews bee campaigner, Brigit Strawbidge: It is February, and in her home in the Malvern Hills, Brigit Strawbridge is on the phone. Her gate opens onto an 'absolutely beautiful' view. Since Autumn 2010 Brigit has been travelling, giving talks and campaigning about Britain's bees. Stories of tumbling bee numbers spring up often enough in the news, but she believes there is much to be done... Read more →

Bees and neonicotinoids face-off for survival

By Carol Miers Has the British Beekeeping Association (BBKA) lost credibility as a body that protects bee welfare? Apparently so, according to an open letter sent this January by British beekeeping in which the BBKA are accused not so much of accepting hush money as being paid by pesticide manufacturers including Bayer for 'the BBKA's endorsement of several insecticides as 'bee-friendly'. Top of the long list of signatories is David Bellamy and it includes Brigit Strawbridge, Patrick Holden and Rebecca Hoskins. Yet meanwhile something is re-igniting the campaign to ban neonicotinoids, an ingredient of pesticides, currently restricted in Italy, France... Read more →