BIODIVERSITY
Creating a
BUZZ Bilberry bumblebee (Bombus monticola).
T
he bilberry bumblebee is a local treasure, with a bright copperorange tail reaching halfway up its body and golden yellow rings encircling its wings. It is a priority species for conservation in the Peak District National Park, found in only a few locations in England. Towns and villages on the High Peak and Hope Valley railway lines are home to this pretty bee, so if you’re travelling by train this summer you may come across a bilberry bumblebee feeding on the flowers in the station. Working with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, who led online bee ID training sessions, local volunteers have made bee-friendly planters at the stations and produced ‘spotter’s guide’ posters. The Buzzing Stations project is highlighting how lucky we are to have the bilberry bumblebee on our doorstep and is encouraging people to look after
‘Awake little queen’
Bumblebee Express planter at Buxton station, made by volunteers.
all bumblebees. Set up by station group volunteers in the High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership, initiated by Friends of Glossop and Buxton stations, the project takes on board the Friends groups at Edale, Hope, Bamford, Hathersage and Grindleford stations.
Bee-friend a bilberry bumblebee To see bilberry bumblebees, a short walk from most of the stations will take you onto the hills where they make their home. Follow the self-led bumblebee trails or look out for volunteer-led bumblebee safaris, where local guides will help you find and photograph these precious bumblebees (subject to COVID-19 guidance). Check out the station planters – you never know who may be sharing a platform with you! Tag us with your photos #BuzzingPeak on social media. You can find out more at www.bumblebeeconservation.org and www.peakdistrictbytrain.org
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www.peakdistrict.gov.uk
Awake little queen is a beautiful new song about the bilberry bumblebee composed by award winning singer-songwriter, Bella Hardy. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust, with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, commissioned Bella to write and perform the song to help raise awareness. You can download the full track, music video and lyrics from www.youtube. com/watch?v=Sqoncl9cEds
Folk composer Bella Hardy’s new song celebrates the bilberry bumblebee.
Did you know? • Bumblebees are vital pollinators which help produce our food. • Changes in agriculture have had a drastic impact on bumblebees, leaving them often hungry and homeless. • Bumblebees feed only on flowers so they need lots of flowering plants to thrive. • You can help by growing bee-friendly flowers.
PHOTO: NICK OWENS
Travelling by train this summer? Make a beeline for Buzzing Stations to discover one of the Peak District’s buzziest tiny residents.
