Helping The Bees And The Environment – Supporting The Bumblebee Conservation Trust

By Author: Donald Nason
Total Articles: 48
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We’re very proud to announce our support for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a charity set up in 2006 to help conserve the bumblebee population and their habitats in the UK.

The dramatic decline in the number of bees in the country and the potentially disastrous effect on the ecology that could result has recently hit the headlines: last month Waitrose asked fruit, vegetable and flower suppliers to avoid using pesticides containing the neonicotinoid chemicals said to be causing the harm and resulting in the drop in numbers; only last week beekeepers protested in London, calling for the government to support a ban of these pesticides; and this week saw the EU place a restriction on the use of the pesticides, saying they should not be used on crops attractive to bees and other pollinators.

Our support for the Trust forms part of the company’s social responsibility policy. Automating business processes to eliminate the use of paper is another way companies can meet their ‘green’ targets and we are very aware of the need to protect and support the environment as ...
... much as possible.

At a recent staff day we invited the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to give a talk and were fascinated to hear that there are 24 different species of bumblebee in the UK, and of how vital their role in the ecology cycle and for the country’s economy. One third of the world’s global agricultural produce relies on insect pollination – and in the UK bumblebees are among the main pollinators – and which contribute £440 million to the UK’s economy.

Wild pollinators, such as bumblebees as opposed to honeybees, are responsible for over 65 percent of crop pollination and as well as the fruit trees and vegetable plants in the food production cycle, many wild flowers and hedgerows depend on bumblebees for pollination – with in turn insects and wild life depending on these flowers and the hedgerows for survival.

Jo Chesworth, the Trust’s Conservation Officer for South West England, explained, “The work of the bumblebee underpins many of the ecosystems and landscapes in the country. Two of our bumblebee species have recently become extinct and two are on the brink of extinction.”

The loss of the country’s flower-rich grasslands and the bumblebees’ natural home has been the major cause for the drop in bumblebee numbers and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust was established by Professor Dave Goulson with its aim to support rare bumblebees through conservation projects working to safeguard and restore existing and to create new bumblebee habitats.

We learnt from the Trust how important it is to provide the right habitat for the bumblebees, and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust has excellent advice on their website on simple and easy ways to make gardens more attractive for them – even planting herbs in a window box can make a difference!

To raise funds for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust we took part in a stripy dress-down day, with the company adding to the individual donations – the ‘stripier’ the outfit, the greater the donation – and we will continue with our support for the Trust.