Join the Great British Bee Count and get '˜buzzing'

Friends of the Earth is urging people to take part in the Great British Bee Count, as part of National Insect Week (June 18 to June 24).
Honey bee. Picture: Sarah Freeman. EMN-180615-140849001Honey bee. Picture: Sarah Freeman. EMN-180615-140849001
Honey bee. Picture: Sarah Freeman. EMN-180615-140849001

So far, over 18,000 people have taken part in the Great British Bee Count (May 17 to June 30) - recording over 290,000 bees.

Using a fun, free and easy-to-use app, the Great British Bee Count enables people to identify and find out more about the UK’s 250+ bee species, and get tips on creating bee-friendly spaces in their garden, patios and balconies.

Thousands of verified bee sightings will also contribute towards the UK governments Pollinator Monitoring Scheme - which is compiling the first comprehensive health check for Britain’s wild bees and other pollinators.

Friends of the Earth bee campaigner, Sandra Bell, said: “The Great British Bee Count is a really fun way to find out more about bees and what we can do to help these fabulous insects.

“We’re delighted that so many people have already taken part in this year’s bee count – and there’s still plenty of time to join in.

“Thousands of verified bee sightings will be submitted to the government’s pollinator monitoring scheme.”

The Great British Bee Count is sponsored by Ecotalk and supported by Buglife - the invertebrate conservation trust.

Dale Vince, founder of ecotricity and ecotalk, said: “Britain’s bees play a vital role in our environment and in pollinating the crops that feed us - but for the last 50 years they’ve been in decline, this is mostly due to the impact of industrial scale farming as well as a general loss of habitat - land for nature.

“The Great British Bee Count is a great initiative, and Ecotalk is delighted to support it.

“We’ve launched Ecotalk, Britain’s green mobile phone service, powered by renewable energy with the proceeds being used to buy land and give it back to nature - to create new habitats for the bees and other creatures of Britain.”

To download the free app, click here

To find out more about National Insect Week, click here