17 January 2023
It’s hard to believe we are now two thirds of the way through our 3-year project, Skills for Bees: Cymru! Our primary focus is the training and mentoring of volunteers to become confident in identifying and recording bumblebees – creating a wave of new citizen scientists to join our established and valued bumblebee recorders and Beewalkers across Wales.
Mae’n anodd credu ein bod bellach ddwy ran o dair o’r ffordd drwy ein prosiect 3 blynedd, Cefnogi Cacwn: Cymru! Ein prif ffocws yw hyfforddi a mentora gwirfoddolwyr i ddod yn hyderus wrth adnabod a chofnodi cacwn – gan greu ton o wyddonwyr newydd i ymuno â’n cofnodwyr cacwn a’n Cerddwyr Gwenyn sefydledig a gwerthfawr ledled Cymru.
If we may take you on a little tour . . . we have been out and about meeting Shrill carder bees (Bombus sylvarum) in Pembrokeshire, Red-tailed cuckoo bees (Bombus rupestris) also known as Hill cuckoo bees, on sunny hills in Montgomeryshire, Moss carder bees (Bombus muscorum) in Ceredigion, Heath bumblebees (Bombus jonellus) on the uplands around Conwy, Broken-belted bumblebees (Bombus soroeenis) on brown field sites in the heart of Port Talbot, many Southern cuckoo bees (Bombus vestalis) residing in the gardens of Bodnant and Bilberry bumblebees (Bombus monticola) in the wonderful Brecon Beacons (to name but a very few!).
Os gallwn fynd â chi ar daith fach . . . Rydym wedi bod o gwmpas y lle yn cwrdd â chardwenynen Shrill (Bombus sylvarum) yn Sir Benfro, Gwenyn y gog cynffon-goch (Bombus rupestris) a elwir hefyd yn wenyn cwcw’r bryn, ar fryniau heulog yn Sir Drefaldwyn, carderwenyn Moss (Bombus muscorum) yng Ngheredigion, cacwn rhos (Bombus jonellus) ar yr ucheldiroedd o amgylch Conwy, cacwn gwregys toredig (Bombus soroeenis) ar safleoedd tir llwyd yng nghanol Port Talbot, llawer o wenyn y gog ddeheuol (Bombus vestalis) yn byw yng ngerddi Bodnant a Chacwn y Llus (Bombus monticola) ym Mannau Brycheiniog bendigedig (i enwi ond ychydig iawn!).
In Denbighshire, the countryside rangers braved the rain to start their Beewalk (so did the bees), we were welcomed by the wonderful Youth team at Erddig, we teamed up with Buglife to discover a new community of Beewalkers in Neath Port Talbot and have worked alongside dedicated Natural resources Wales (NRW) staff at some of our most stunning Nature Reserves. National Trust staff and volunteers have embraced Skills for Bees: Cymru with gusto – providing wonderful locations for training and following up with their own established Beewalks at Erddig, Chirk, Bodnant and Tredegar House and more to follow in 2023. Most importantly, our community of bumblebee recorders and Beewalkers in Wales continues to grow and engage with the project. By the end of 2022, we had nearly 60 new registered Beewalk transects in Wales, adding significant data to help understand how our bumblebee populations are doing over time, both in terms of distribution and abundance. Beewalk provides an extremely valuable source of data. Why not take a look at our 10 Year BeeWalk Report celebrating 10 years since the scheme was launched to the public.
Yn Sir Ddinbych, bu’r cadoedd cefn gwlad yn wynebu’r glaw i ddechrau eu Beewalk (fel y gwnaeth y gwenyn!), cawsom groeso gan y tîm Ieuenctid gwych yn Erddig, fe wnaethom ymuno â Buglife i ddarganfod cymuned newydd o Beewalkers yng Nghastell-nedd Port Talbot ac wedi gweithio ochr yn ochr â staff ymroddedig Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru (CNC) yn rhai o’n Gwarchodfeydd Natur fwyaf trawiadol. Mae staff a gwirfoddolwyr yr Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol wedi cofleidio Sgiliau Gwenyn ag awch – gan ddarparu safleoedd bendigedig ar gyfer hyfforddi a dilyn i fyny gyda’u Beewalks eu hunain yn Erddig, Y Waun, Bodnant a Thŷ Tredegar a mwy i ddilyn yn 2023! Yn bwysicaf oll, mae ein cymuned o gofnodwyr cacwn a Beewalkers yng Nghymru yn parhau i dyfu ac ymgysylltu â’r prosiect. Erbyn diwedd 2022, roedd gennym bron i 60 o drawsluniau Beewalk cofrestredig newydd yng Nghymru, gan ychwanegu data sylweddol i helpu i ddeall sut mae ein poblogaethau cacwn yn gwneud dros amser, o ran dosbarthiad a helaethrwydd. Mae Beewalk yn ffynhonnell hynod werthfawr o ddata. Beth am fwrw golwg ar ein Hadroddiad Cerdded Gwenyn 10 Mlynedd yn dathlu 10 mlynedd ers lansio’r cynllun i’r cyhoedd?
So, to 2023 and the final year of the project! We have three new focus areas in which to deliver beginner training – Carmarthenshire, Eryri (Snowdonia National Park) and the Vale of Glamorgan. Two weeks into the year and we are already deluged with requests for training from enthusiastic individuals, community groups and organisations in these areas who would like training in bumblebee ID and monitoring. We’re looking forward to meeting those people, both through online sessions and face to face field days in all the different habitats and locations that these areas have to offer – parks, sand dunes, mountains and gardens, both in the wilds and in the hearts of local communities. We also aim to make sure that all of our Skills for Bees: Cymru participants are supported to develop their skills with online training in some of the trickier species provided throughout the coming year. It’s going to be busy, but we’re really looking forward to it!
Felly, i 2023 a blwyddyn olaf y prosiect! Mae gennym dri maes ffocws newydd ar gyfer darparu hyfforddiant i ddechreuwyr – Sir Gaerfyrddin, Eryri (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) a Bro Morgannwg. Bythefnos i mewn i’r flwyddyn ac rydym eisoes wedi gwirioni gyda cheisiadau am hyfforddiant gan unigolion brwdfrydig, grwpiau cymunedol a sefydliadau yn y meysydd hyn a hoffai gael hyfforddiant mewn adnabod cacwn a monitro. Rydym yn edrych ymlaen at gwrdd â’r bobl hynny, trwy sesiynau ar-lein a diwrnodau maes wyneb yn wyneb yn yr holl wahanol gynefinoedd a lleoliadau sydd gan yr ardaloedd hyn i’w cynnig – parciau, twyni tywod, mynyddoedd a gerddi, yn y gwyllt ac yn yr ardaloedd o galon cymunedau lleol. Rydym hefyd yn anelu at sicrhau bod ein holl gyfranogwyr Sgiliau Gwenyn yn cael eu cefnogi i ddatblygu eu sgiliau gyda hyfforddiant ar-lein mewn rhai o’r rhywogaethau anoddach a ddarperir yn ystod y flwyddyn i ddod. Mae’n mynd i fod yn brysur ond rydyn ni’n edrych ymlaen yn fawr iawn!
If you would like to find out more about Skills for Bees: Cymru, please take a look at our project page or contact our Project Officer Clare.Flynn@bumblebeeconservation.org for further information.
Os hoffech chi ddarganfod mwy am Cefnogi Cacwn: Cymru, edrychwch ar ein tudalen we yma neu cysylltwch â’n Swyddog Prosiect Clare.Flynn@bumblebeeconservation.org am ragor o wybodaeth.
