Bee Walk

Please click the bluebird symbol to email the group contact, Moira Green.

BeeWalk, a national recording scheme operated by the >> BBCT << (BumbleBee Conservation Trust) monitors the abundance of bumblebees across the UK.
Volunteers identify & count the bumblebees seen on a 1 hour walk monthly from Mar to Oct. 
Besides promoting training & 'Bee Friendly' activities & visits, MEOPHAM BEE WATCH GROUP has established 5 BeeWalks:
>>  Cobham, Trosley, Northfield, Meopham, Jeskyns. << 
For information / map / or to email the walk leader, click the walk's name.

2025 Events:

Training Course Friday 7th March, 10.00am on
(Walk after Lunch - estimated start 13.30)
Please let Moira know asap if you wish to participate - let her know asap if you are a YES/NO or even a MAYBE. As in other years we will meet in the Hamilton Room at Trosley Country Park. If you send your car registration to her then as before you will not have to pay for parking. Our trainer will be Simon Springate who is the Kent's Plan Bee Officer and works closely with Nikki Gammans.  He plans to give us an interactive refresher that will include walking the Trosley Country Park Transect. He will cover the 'Big 8' and any other bumblebees you feel that we may encounter. You can get refreshments in the cafe on site or bring your own.  If you can only attend half a day then I am sure we can work round that.

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REPORT ON 2024:

Nationally, 2024 proved a very bad year for bumblebees, whose populations dropped by 25% from their 2010-23 average to their lowest since records began. Cold and wet conditions in spring were probably the main factor, with many areas experiencing double or even triple their usual rainfall levels in March, April and May when queens are establishing their nests and at their most vulnerable. Observations of White-Tailed Bumblebees fell by 60% and of Red-Tailed Bumblebees by 74%. Our Meopham U3A Bee Walks reflected these trends - for example Red Tailed Bumblebees, usually numerous on walks, were noticeably poor.

>> MEMBERS NEWS & OBSERVATIONS << (including local community activities).
>> SUMMARIES OF OUR  PREVIOUS YEARS' ACTIVITIES FROM 2016 ON <<
>>Our Collection of Bee Walk PICTURES <<.

 FOR SOME FREE GOODIES, SCROLL TO 'INFO & RESOURCES' AT THE FOOT OF THIS PAGE.

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BEE WATCH ACTIVITIES WHICH YOU CAN DO INDIVIDUALLY:

1. Learn and/or improve your individual bumblebee identification skills. Use the links below to view presentations by Dr Richard Comont.
2. Devise your own regular walk – (e.g., round the garden, along your street) - & record the type & number of bumblebees you see. You can report these to the group or to: i-record (https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/), BWARS (https://www.bwars.com/),or Friends Of The Earth Bee Count (https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bee-count). 
3. Record what you see in your own garden on a less formal basis. 
4. Make your garden more bee friendly . . .
. . . and perhaps join the Bumblebee Conservation Trust?
Can You Involve Your Local Community?
1. Identify areas in your local area which could be made more bee friendly – eg. road verges, waste & disused areas, public & open spaces, allotments, etc.
2. Contact & liaise with other group members, landowners, local councillors, KCC, & anyone else as to ways in which this could be achieved. Could you plant bee friendly plants & seeds, offer labour, join, approach or assist bodies such as BBCT, Kent Wildlife Trust, Friends of The Earth, NW Kent Countryside Partnership, etc?
3. Could you help to build up a bank of useful information & contacts which we could all use. A lot of advice & resources are available from many of these organizations, particularly BBCT. 
Finally - We are very keen to hear your ideas and suggestions.

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INFO & RESOURCES:

• Many FREE resources via the 'Bee The Change' Scheme at: https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/beethechange/resources/
  
  
• BBCT 'Bumblebee Identification'presentations by Dr Richard Comont:
       Entry Level: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6n8_EGimCM
       Intermediate Level: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO61UHS0WUE
  
• "What’s that Bumblebee": BBCT bumble bee identification app with augmented reality. If AR is not supported on your smartphone the app is still very useful for identifying the 'Big 8' (commonest bumblebee species).  Links from https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/3d-app-brings-uk-bumblebees-to-life-on-your-phone/  to Google Play and the Apple App store, from where the app can be downloaded for free.
  
• The Big Seven Bumblebees Identification Sheet: (To download  click  below)
  
• The 6 Cuckoo Bees:  (To download  click  below) 
  
• "A Walk That Is The Bees Knees"  (To download click below):
  (An article in the U3A's "Third Age Matters". Magazine [Spring 2020 Issue 41, P49] on our Meopham Bee Watch Group) .
  
• Bee Walk Survey Scheme Info click HERE.
  
• Bee Walk PDF pack to download click HERE.
  
• Blooms for Bees - a great app with some good photographs.
     Free download at Blooms for Bees (Apple) or Blooms for Bees (Android)

Bee Watch Group Co-ordinator