Bee Walk

Please click the bluebird symbol to email the group contact, Chris Hague-Smith.

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 5 established  BeeWalks + 'Windmill'  being developed.:
>>  Cobham, Trosley, Northfield, Allotments, Jeskyns, Windmill. << 
For information / map / or to email the walk leader, click the walk's name.

2026 Walks Schedule

Please note:   1. New walk based on Meopham Windmill started April.   2. From April Beryl will be Walk leader for Trosley Walk .
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2026 NEWS:

25th March 2026: Chris Hague-Smith has volunteered to take over as the new group contact from Moira Green who has moved to a different area. We wish to thank Moira for all her hard work and enthusiasm, and for liaising with members of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to organise our bi-annual training courses at Trosley Country Park. We wish her every success.
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REPORT ON 2025:
(TO BE ADDED SHORTLY)
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CLICK THE WORDS UNDERLINED BELOW TO SEE:
>> 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