Bee Walk
Please click the bluebird symbol to email the group contact, Chris Hague-Smith.
BeeWalk is a national recording scheme operated by the >> BBCT << (BumbleBee Conservation Trust). It monitors the abundance of bumblebees across the UK.
Volunteers identify & count the bumblebees seen on a set walk (about 1 hour) monthly from Mar to Oct.
Besides promoting training & 'Bee Friendly' activities & visits, MEOPHAM BEE WATCH GROUP has so far established 6 BeeWalks:
>> Cobham, Trosley, Northfield, Allotments, Jeskyns, Windmill. <<
For information / map / or to email the walk leader, click the walk's name.
2026 Walks Schedule:
|
Walk & Leader |
Frequency: |
Meeting At: |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
|
Trosley CP: (Beryl) |
1st Fri of month |
10.30 for 11.00, at the Park’s Café |
6 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
|
Cobham: (Alan) |
2nd Thurs of month |
11.00 Car Park behind Cobham School |
12 |
9 |
14 |
11 |
9 |
13 |
10 |
8 |
|
Northfield: (Chris) |
2nd Wed of month |
10.30 outside Black Lion, Hartley |
11 |
8 |
13 |
10 |
8 |
12 |
9 |
14 |
|
Windmill: (Jillian) |
3rd Mon of month |
13.30 at Meopham Windmill |
** |
20 |
18 |
15 |
20 |
17 |
21 |
19 |
|
Allotments: (Alison) |
3rd Tues of month |
10.45 for 11.00 in Meopham Allotments |
17 |
21 |
19 |
16 |
21 |
18 |
15 |
20 |
|
Jeskyns: (Lynda) |
4th Mon of month |
10.00 at Jeskyns Café |
23 |
27 |
25 |
22 |
27 |
24 |
28 |
26 |
Please note that from April :
1. Our new walk based on Meopham Windmill started.
2. Beryl became Walk leader for Trosley Walk .
........................................................................................................
2026 NEWS:
25th March 2026: Chris Hague-Smith took over as the new group contact from Moira Green who moved to a different area. We thank Moira for all her hard work and enthusiasm, and for liaising with members of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to organise our bi-annual training courses at Trosley Country Park, & wish her every success.
A new walk (Windmill) based on Meopham Windmill started in April. (Leader Jillian Shields).
........................................................................................................
REPORT ON 2025:
(TO BE ADDED IN DUE COURSE)
........................................................................................................
CLICK THE WORDS UNDERLINED BELOW TO SEE:
>> MEMBERS NEWS & OBSERVATIONS << (including local community activities).
>> SUMMARIES OF OUR PREVIOUS YEARS' ACTIVITIES FROM 2016 ON <<
>>Our Collection of Bee Walk PICTURES <<.
*** FOR SOME FREE GOODIES, SCROLL TO 'INFO & RESOURCES' AT THE FOOT OF THIS PAGE. ***
.......................................................................
BEE WATCH ACTIVITIES WHICH YOU CAN DO INDIVIDUALLY:
Individually:
1. Learn and/or improve your individual bumblebee identification skills. Use the links below to view presentations by Dr Richard Comont.
2. Devise your own regular walk – (e.g. round the garden, along your street) - & record the type & number of bumblebees you see. You can report these to the group or to:
i-record (https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/), BWARS (https://www.bwars.com/),or Friends Of The Earth Bee Count (https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bee-count).
3. Record what you see in your own garden on a less formal basis.
4. Make your garden more bee friendly . . .
. . . and perhaps join the Bumblebee Conservation Trust?
Can You Involve Your Local Community?
1. Identify areas in your local area which could be made more bee friendly – eg. road verges, waste & disused areas, public & open spaces, allotments, etc.
2. Contact & liaise with other group members, landowners, local councillors, KCC, & anyone else as to ways in which this could be achieved. Could you plant bee friendly plants & seeds, offer labour, join, approach or assist bodies such as BBCT, Kent Wildlife Trust, Friends of The Earth, NW Kent Countryside Partnership, etc?
3. Could you help to build up a bank of useful information & contacts which we could all use. Much advice & resources available from many of these organizations, particularly BBCT.
Finally - We are very keen to hear your ideas and suggestions.
..............................................................................................
INFO & RESOURCES:
- Many FREE resources via the 'Bee The Change' Scheme at: https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/beethechange/resources/
- BBCT 'Bumblebee Identification'presentations by Dr Richard Comont:
Entry Level: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6n8_EGimCM
Intermediate Level: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO61UHS0WUE - "What’s that Bumblebee":BBCT bumble bee identification app with augmented reality. If AR is not supported on your smartphone the app is still very useful for identifying the 'Big 8' (commonest bumblebee species). Links from https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/3d-app-brings-uk-bumblebees-to-life-on-your-phone/ to Google Play and the Apple App store, from where the app can be downloaded for free.
- The Big Seven Bumblebees Identification Sheet: (To download click
below) - The 6 Cuckoo Bees: (To download click below)
- "A Walk That Is The Bees Knees" (To download click below):
(An article in U3A's "Third Age Matters". Magazine [Spring 2020 Issue 41, P49] on our Meopham Bee Watch Group) . - Bee Walk Survey Scheme Info click HERE.
- Bee Walk PDF pack to download; click HERE.
- Blooms for Bees - a great app with some good photographs.
Free download at Blooms for Bees (Apple) or Blooms for Bees (Android)
Bee Watch Group Co-ordinator
| The 6 Cuckoo Bees | [ ] | 333 kB |
| TAM Article - A Walk That Is The Bees Knees | [ ] | 561 kB |
| The Big Seven Bumblebees | [ ] | 852 kB |