Bee Watch Past Events
Bee Watch In Previous Years:
Bee pictures click HERE.
2016:
Following an inspirational Meopham U3A talk in Oct-2016 by Dr Nikki Gammans from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, this group (the UK U3A’s very 1st Bee Watch Group), was formed at a meeting in Feb-2017. It was decided to organize some initial training & then a series of Bee Watch walks in small groups during the summer months; also to hold occasional group meetings, further training or other events.
BeeWalk is a national recording scheme operated by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to monitor the abundance of bumblebees across the UK. The survey would be impossible without volunteers, who identify & count the bumblebees they see on an hour’s walk each month from Mar to Oct. It can be a very pleasant way to spend an hour or two on a sunny day. Anyone can become a BeeWalker – all you need is a spare hour or so every month to walk a fixed route of about a mile (you choose where it goes), & send in your sightings. It’s essential that the route is fixed to allow direct comparisons of bumblebee population trends over time.
Beryl Connelly, Group Contact
2017:
March 27: At an informal meeting of the group at the Cricketers Inn we decided to devise some plans of our own based on the information to be found on the Bumblebee Conservation Trust website whilst we waited to hear from Nikki Gammans re training. We identified 3-4 areas where 'Bee Walks' could take place & dates for initial visits were agreed upon.
20 April Bee Identification Training: This was run by Nikki at Trosley Country Park. She was enthusiastic, informative & inspired us to get out & look to see what we could find. We were shown how to net the bees & put them in a small plastic tube. So much easier than trying to take photographs when they are flying free. Bees are then released unharmed after a few minutes. You can read/download our write-up by clicking Beginners Training Day.
23 April: We identified various possible walks & planned to buy nets & plastic tubes, splitting the cost between group members when known. By 9 May group members had paid £6 each & the equipment was purchased.
5 June: We successfully completed our first walks. It was not as easy as it looks either to catch or identify the bees, & was a steep learning curve for us all.
13 June: Bumblebee & wild life surveys at Ranscombe Farm.
During 2017 we operated the following survey walks:
Bee Walk 1 - Meopham Allotments
Bee Walk 2 - Trosley Country Park
Bee Walk 3 - Cobham Mausoleum
Bee Walk 4 - Millbrook Garden CentreBee Walk 5 - Ranscombe Farm
Bee Walk 6 - Northfield DA3 (Hartley/New Ash Green Area).
31 October: Our end of season meeting. It was good to hear what had been achieved during the year.It was decided that:-
• The group would reform in February 2018 - enrollment would take place at the monthly meeting with a group meeting in early March. At the first meeting a new group co-ordinator and web editor would be decided.
• The group has a surplus of £10.44 to be carried forward to next season. (See Accounts )
• We would try to find at least one walk that was accessibility friendly. Shorne Country Park, Jeskyns and Ashenbank Wood being possible venues.
12th December - Meopham U3A Monthly Members' Meeting: We made a group presentation to all Meopham U3A members at which we reported on our activities & results during the year for each of our Bee Walks. This appeared have been well received.
2018:
Start Of Season Meeting 6 March: Thanks to everyone who attended the meeting at the Guide Hut in Meopham, especially our 4 new members. The following points were noted:
Beryl Connelly to continue as the group coordinator.
Anne-Marie Medhurst will be our web manager.
Bee Walks at: Trosley Country Park, Cobham Mausoleum, Meopham Allotments & Northfield will continue during 2018.
Beryl will investigate the possibility of a walk suitable for members with restricted mobility at Shorne Woods Country Park.
She will also contact Ranscombe Farm to see if that have any suitable training planned.
Anne-Marie will investigate Jeskyns as a possible additional venue.
16 April: A very enjoyable training day run by Lauren Kennedy at the RSPB Reserve - Northward Hill, Hoo. Within a few minutes of starting our walk we spotted a Buff-tailed Queen and after that we became quite blasé – just another one. We watched them nest hunting & foraging for food. A rare Shrill Carder was spotted trying to get down the neck of Chris Hague-Smith’s shirt. Both bee & Chris escaped the encounter unharmed!!! At the end of the walk we spotted Buff/White-tailed workers which is a clear indication that the queens that emerged last month have successfully started the 2018 cycle. In an enclosed area of the edge of the car park a single Early Bumblebee was spotted. The 6 of us who attended had a great time & learnt a great deal.
2018 WALKS:
Trosley Country Park: All dates were the 4th Friday in the month. Meet in the café 10:30 ready to start at 11:00. Contact: Moira Green.
Cobham Mausoleum: Contact: Beryl Connelly.
Meopham Allotments: Contact: Helen Pearce.
Northfield: Contact Chris Hague-Smith. The walk route was adjusted with the help of the BBCT & will now be known as Northfield DA3 8EX. Meet Wednesdays approx. fortnightly, at Black Lion PH & Tea Room; aim to complete at least one walk a month.
Jeskyns Community Woodland: (NEW FOR 2018) Contact: Ann Marie Medhurst. Further details via the Jeskyns Community Woodland page.
OTHER 2018 BUMBLEBEE PROJECTS:
MAKING A BUZZ FOR THE COAST: More details can be found on the BBCT website Making a Buzz
SHRILL CARDER BEE PROJECT - BACK FROM THE BRINK: (Project Officer Rosie Earwaker). See buglife web page, follow it on Twitter @Buzzdonttweet or connect on LinkedIn.
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH BUMBLEBEE COUNT 2018: 17 May to 30 June.
END OF YEAR MEETING 26 NOVEMBER: Each bee walk group provided feedback on what they had seen. In general we have seen more and a greater variety of bumblebees. Compared to when we started we are all more knowledgeable and some of us are very much more knowledgeable.
Our 2018 results were logged on the BBCT BeeWalk Survey Scheme website.
Activities to begin again in spring & our plans for 2019 as below; any further developments will be added.
Beryl appealed for a new group coordinator for 2019 & gave job details.
Nikki had advised us of some courses to take place at Dungeness as follows:
• Bee ID Beginners - 7 April (£15).
• Bee ID Intermediate - 5 May (£15).
• Flower ID: 14 April by leading botanist Heather Silk (no charge).
• Flower ID: 24 April by leading botanist Heather Silk (no charge).
Plans were already in place for the start of 2019 season including a training session on 8 April.
Beryl Connelly, Group Coordinator.
2019:
We had established 5 BeeWalks - information about them can be found via our main group web page:
Cobham Mausoleum
Jeskyns Community Woodland
Meopham Allotments
Northfield (Hartley/New Ash Green)
Trosley Country Park
Blooms for Bees was a great app with some good photographs. Available to download for free: Blooms for Bees (Apple.) or Blooms for Bees (Android.)
START OF SEASON MEETING, 25 FEBRUARY 2019: The following was noted:
The 5 established walks to continue in 2019 with modification to the routes at Jeskyns and Cobham Mausoleum.
8 April 2019 - a day out at RSPB Northward Hill, Hoo with Lauren Kennedy - more information and time TBC.
Possible link with Canterbury U3A who are interested in forming a similar group.
Dates for all walks finalised for 2019 season and can be found by clicking above.
Information about our group to be added to the National U3A research database.
END OF SEASON MEETING, 28 OCTOBER 2019:
The end of season meeting took place during a U3A Coffee Morning. There was good attendance & and feed back to the rest of the group. Many thanks to all who managed to attend. The general consensus was that we would continue in 2020.
The 5 groups reported a mixed year – all common species being seen with but with bee numbers fluctuating wildly throughout the season.
After the meeting we were visited by the new Chair of Meopham Allotment Association who was very interested in what we were doing. She is keen to see the site managed in a more ‘Bee Friendly’ way.
Action points for 2020:
ID training as early as possible in the season – Ask if Nikki is available.
Re-enrolment in February.
6 April 2020 Visit to RSPB Northward Hill with Lauren Kennedy.
A new slogan was suggested ‘A Walk With A Purpose’. What a great way to end the 2019 season & start 2020.
This was Beryl’s last meeting as co-ordinator of the group. She greatly enjoyed her participation over the last 3 seasons, & was thanked profusely for all her efforts as group coordinator for the past 4 years. She handed over to Chris Hague-Smith who would take the group into 2020.
2020:
At the start of the season we had 36 members, & organised our 5 walks, various training sessions & a visit to Northward Hill, Hoo hosted by the BBCT; also an article about our activities appeared in the Spring Issue of the Third Age Trust Magazine "Third Age Matters". However, in March all our training events & our 5 regular Bee Walks had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown situation, along with all BBCT Training Events until further notice. In mid May government restrictions on outdoor activity changed to allow more exercise outdoors & some travel to open spaces, provided that rules on social distancing were followed, & were later relaxed further. As a result, BeeWalk transect recording could resume across Great Britain with various restrictions. This allowed our bee walks to be resumed in reasonable safety in groups with a maximum of 6 people following the official guidance - strict social distancing, face masks etc. There was no pressure on anyone to resume walking their transects until they felt safe & comfortable doing so. Jeskyns, Northfield & Cobham tentatively restarted, Meopham Allotments were not opened to the public, & a number of problems prevented the Trosley Country Park walks from taking place, although some of its members were able to make sightings. Weather conditions also had a marked effect. In practice, all the Northfield walks were completed, most of the Jeskyns & Cobham Walks, & the first Meopham Allotments & Trosley CP Walks.
2020 WALKS WERE SCHEDULED AS FOLLOWS (Except where marked *):
Cobham: Meet 1st Tues of month @ 14.00, White Lane Car Park: Mar 3, Apr 7, May 5, Jun 2, Jul 7, Aug 4, Sep 1, Oct 6. Contact Beryl
Trosley: Meet 1st Fri of Month @ 10.30 for 11.00, at Café: Mar 13*, Apr 3, May 1, Jun 5, Jul 3, Aug 7, Sep 4, Oct 2. Contact Moira
Northfield: Meet 2nd Wed of month @ 11.00, Black Lion, Hartley: Mar 11, Apr 8, May 13, Jun 10, Jul 8, Aug 12, Sep 9, Oct 14. Contact Chris
Meopham: Meet 3rd Tues of month @ 13.30, Johns Road: Mar 17, Apr 21, May 19, Jun 16, Jul 21, Aug 18, Sep 15, Oct 20. Contact Helen
Jeskyns: Meet 4th Tue of month @ 14.00 at Café: Mar 24, Apr 28, May 26, Jun 23, Jul 28, Aug 25, Sep 22, Oct 27. Contact Ann-Marie
Suspension of Meopham U3A meetings and public venue closures prevented group activities until further notice.
2021:
Due to the Covid pandemic enrolments were completed by Email, and a walks schedule drawn up. After several revisions the final dates were:
It was an incredibly difficult year, but although some of our walks ran into problems over & above the limitations imposed by the pandemic & lockdown measures, we managed to carry out a reasonable number of successful walks. Once group walks were permitted under covid restrictions, Jeskyns & Northfield continued as planned.
Resources and Ideas for activities which members could do individually were published on our web pages, & members were encouraged to send in observations & news items.
At the end of the year Chris had to stand down as the main group contact. Beryl Connelly very nobly agreed to act as the joint Group Contact and took the end of year meeting & Chris would endeavour to look after our website pages & hoped to continue to lead the Wednesday Northfield Walks in 2022. Due to a move out of the area, Ann Marie would no longer be able to act as walk leader for the Jeskyns Group. We gave our grateful thanks & very best wishes to her.
2021 ‘END-OF-YEAR' MEETING (held during the November U3A Coffee Morning).
Only 3 Bee Watch members were able to attend the end of year meeting taken by Beryl on November 29th. Although this was disappointing several positive aspects emerged:
- COBHAM: The group is trying to work out what to do about the altered walk circumstances – Pat will contact the other walk members and arrange a catch-up meeting in Dec or Jan to make a decision. Beryl submitted her report. (See Cobham Bee Walk page).
- JESKYNS: Linda Bolton will take over at Jeskyns – Beryl has let Ann Marie know and she will inform the staff at Jeskyns and also change the contact/login details on BCT site.
- MEOPHAM ALLOTMENTS: Helen had reported some difficulties which had prevented 2021 walks from taking place. Nothing had yet been heard about plans for 2022.
- NORTHFIELD: The group managed to complete all 8 walks for 2021 but results were disappointing. Chris had submitted a 2021 report. (See Northfield 2021). He intended if possible to continue the 2022 walks with the support of other group members.
- TROSLEY: Moira tendered an end of year report + data – (See Trosley CP Bee Walk page).
PLANS FOR 2022:
3 groups were confirmed for 2022, 1 had discussion in hand & 1 not yet heard from. Provided circumstances allowed, we hoped to re-enrol at the February 2022 monthly meeting for a planned start in March. Should Covid etc preclude this we would have to arrange some other procedure.
2022:
At the start of 2022 Cobham, Northfield & Jeskyns walks looked viable, Trosley was under discussion and Meopham Allotments was uncertain. Later in the season Meopham was re-established with Beryl as interim walk leader & a reconfigured route. Cobham & Jeskyns experienced access & other problems leading to revisions of route and Alan Cobb leading the Cobham Walks. Various other difficulties caused some early walks to be missed.
Enrolments were carried out mainly online.
END OF SEASON MEETING, 3rd OCTOBER: 9 members met at Millbrook Garden Centre, with apologies from a further 4.
The problems encountered by the various walks and the results of sightings were reported.
Beryl & Chris stood down as the group contacts. Moira volunteered as the new group contact.
There had been a reduction in the Meopham U3A membership numbers and consequently in Bee Watch Group numbers.
It was felt that it was important to get some further training organized for 2023 and Moira volunteered to pursue this.
2023:
2023 TRAINING.
A highly successful training course with Dr Nikki Gammans & her staff took place in the Hamilton Room at Trosley Country Park between 11 & 3 on Friday 3rd February 2023. 19 members attended.
The initial walks schedule was published on 16/02/2023:
2024:
The initial annual schedule was published on Feb 19th 2024:
Page text last edited: 10/01/2021