The Bumblebee Conversation Trust based in Stirling, competing for Best Environment Project, will need your support to make sure there is much-deserved Scottish success in this year’s awards.

Of the 24 bumblebee species native to the UK, two have become extinct and five are critically endangered and on the list of UKBAP priority species. From their base in Scotland, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust has raised awareness across the UK of the bumblebee’s plight.

Watch a video about the Bumbleebee Conservation Trust (link to YouTube).

Based at Stirling University, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust was founded in 2006 to raise awareness about the decline of bumblebees and the consequences for our countryside and food security. The Trust has grown rapidly in the last four years and now has over 6,000 members and works with the public, farmers and land managers right across the UK to prevent further declines and look after bumblebee populations for future generations.

The Heritage Lottery Fund grant enabled the Trust to hold a variety of events, build an interactive website, provide training in bumblebee identification and habitat-management techniques, and promoted bumblebee gardening. ‘Beewatch’, a national bumblebee survey, generated over 5,000 records in its first year.