Spring is on the way!

Now that winter is almost over, it's time to start preparing for the new season of bumblebee activity. With so much to do, it's never too early to start. On this page you'll find out how you can help bumblebees in Spring, as well as a few ways to support BBCT.

Gardening for bumblebees

Spring sees the emergence of bumblebee queens which will have been hibernating all winter. They'll need to replenish their energy reserves and collect and store food for their new nest, so you can help them out by having the right plants in your garden.

To find out which spring-flowering plants are good for bees, visit the Bee kind section of our website. There'll you'll be able to rate your garden for its current bee-friendliness, and get lots of recommendations for other plants to plant. If you want to see which plants will be flowering in any particular month, click that month in the Flower finder box on the left hand side.

Spotting bumblebee queens

Bumblebee queens are usually easy to spot - they can be quite large! Aside from their large size, you'll also be able to spot queens because of the way they behave when they are flying close to the ground in search of a new nest.

In one of our surveys, BeeWalk, volunteers begin to record their sightings in March. They then record the bumblebees they see in the same place once per month until October. If you would like to find out more about BeeWalk, visit the Surveys section of our website.

If you want to brush up on your bumblebee identification skills, you can follow the guide on our website (click here) or buy our 'What's that bumblebee?' guide for £2.50 (click here to go to our merchandise section).

Support BBCT

We're delighted that beefayre has generously decided to donate 50% of the proceeds from their beautiful bumblebee-inspired cards to Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Each card also comes with a packet of wildflower seeds to help get your garden blooming and buzzing! See below for some samples of their cards, which all feature bumblee-friendly flowers. These cards are perfect for Valentine's, Mother's Day or Easter, and can be ordered from the beefayre website at http://www.beefayre.com/cards-with-seeds-for-bees.html

‘Fruits of the Earth’ giving something back to the bumblebees! 

Frugi (Latin for fruits of the earth) supports Bumblebee Conservation Trust through the 1% for the Planet scheme.  Its clothes are organic and ethically produced in beautiful designs for babies, children and nursing mothers.

The Frugi Spring catalogue is now available - http://www.welovefrugi.com/catalogue/Spring-2013/

1% for the Planet
If you have a business and are interested in learning more about supporting the Bumblebee Conservation Trust through this global movement of companies helping environmental organisations, check out http://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/en/