Our Coast, Our Sea - Plan Bee for wildlife charity

5 May 2010

A generous grant of £5,000 from The Cooperative Membership Plan Bee campaign has boosted Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Beequest Project aimed specifically at protecting local bees.

All types of bee have suffered a very serious reduction in numbers in recent decades and all but 6 of the UK’s 25 bumble bee species have been in decline since the 1960s. Honey bee populations have also been affected by a range of threats.

The cash injection will now allow the Trust to train three new beekeepers and undertake habitat improvements at a number of its reserves which will include the planting of flowers and shrubs to encourage bees and insects to the site.

The grant will also fund a series of practical sessions in a number of primary schools which will include using a glass sided observation hive from Newcastle and District Beekeepers’ Association in the classroom and placing bumble bee nesting chambers on the reserves undergoing specific bee habitat improvement.

The Cooperative aims to make 2010 the year that bees make their big comeback. Through Plan Bee, it is introducing lots of new ides, activities and initiatives all aimed towards giving bees a fighting chance of survival.

The organisation has a 10 point list for 2010 which includes Co-operative Farms inviting beekeepers to establish hives on its farms, distributing packets of wildlife seeds to members and customers in its stores and Co-operative Foods continuing with its temporary prohibition on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on own-brand fresh and frozen produce which was introduced in 2009.

If any members of the public have any old beekeeping equipment which they no longer use and would like to donate to the Beequest Project, Geoff Dobbins Estates Officer with Northumberland Wildlife Trust would love to hear from you. Please contact him at the Trust on: 0191 284 6884.