I spent a very happy time today on Salisbury Plain with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust's Pippa Rayner and a group of enthusiasts learning about bumblebee identification. There are 14,000 Hectares of unimproved chalk downland - or 20% of Europe's total - on the plain, which means it is bumblebee central. Although gardeners can do a lot, restoration of species rich grassland habitat is the key to restoring the fortunes of many bumblebees.
Pippa is particularly working on saving the Shrill Carder Bee, which looks as if it could be the next of our bumblebees to go extinct. It's clinging on in pockets of the South West, including around us, and we're hoping that our meadow projects might help save this once common bee. Thanks to Pippa's tuition, now I think I 'd be able to identify one if we are lucky enough to come across it.
