Conservation work is key to addressing bumblebee decline

Monitoring and habitat creation programmes are more important than ever as early reports from our bumblebee monitoring sites show
mixed signs of recovery following last year’s 50% decline.

Dedicated volunteers have completed the 2025 monitoring season across 16 sites in the Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland National
Landscape. While survey data won’t be fully completed until later this year, early results show mixed findings, with some sites appearing more
promising than others.

YDMT’s Hay Time Officer Carol Edmondson, said: “We need these numbers, whatever story they tell, only by tracking what’s happening year after year can we know what’s really going on.”

Support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery and your donations, has enabled us to build one of the most comprehensive regional bumblebee datasets.

Over 11 years, volunteers have walked 485 kilometres, recording more than 21,600 bumblebees across 12 species. This data is vital for understanding long-term trends and informing conservation efforts.

Your support also helps deliver our Hay Time project, which has restored more than 850 hectares of wildflower-rich hay meadows - essential habitats for pollinators. Every hectare restored offers a lifeline to struggling bee populations, providing nectar and pollen throughout the flight season.

We’re deeply grateful to our volunteers and supporters, whether you’ve walked a survey route or donated.

If you’d like to get involved in this important work, we’re now looking for new volunteers. Visit www.ydmt.org/community-conservation to find out more.