Cynefin i Wenyn
Focusing on the Carmarthenshire coastal region, targeting priority bumblebee species.
Project overview
Cynefin i Wenyn is a three-year conservation project (starting May 2026) focused on protecting threatened bumblebee species along the Carmarthenshire coast.
Building on our two-year project, Connecting the Carmarthenshire Coast, the project is enhancing and connecting habitat at 15 key sites, supporting community wellbeing through nature engagement, and empowering local people and land managers to conserve bumblebees.
We are helping to make the local rare bumblebee populations more resilient in the long term through practical habitat creation, training, monitoring, and community activities. Local people are learning more about the rare bumblebees on their doorstep, and the area is being celebrated as a vital hub for rare bumblebee species.
Target species and geographical location
The project is focusing on the Carmarthenshire coastal region, targeting priority species including the Moss carder bumblebee (Bombus muscorum), Brown-banded carder bumblebee (Bombus humilis), Red-shanked carder bumblebee (Bombus ruderarius), Ruderal bumblebee (Bombus ruderatus) and the Shrill carder bumblebee (Bombus sylvarum).
Work is taking place across five key Champion Sites: Pembrey Forest, Llanelli Wetlands, Sandy Water Park, Pembrey Burrows and Cydweli Quay. We are also working across 10 beautiful community sites across Llanelli and Pembrey.
Goals and objectives
The project is aiming to create more extensive and better-connected habitats for rare bumblebees while building community skills, knowledge, and confidence to take practical action for pollinators. It is also increasing understanding of bumblebee populations through systematic monitoring such as BeeWalks, surveys, and species blitzes, and is strengthening long-term conservation outcomes by developing strong partnerships and securing 10-year land management agreements.
Activities and methods
Project delivery involves creating and enhancing habitats at champion and community sites, supported by bespoke advice for more than 10 sites and a greenspace analysis report focused on threatened bumblebees. The project is also delivering land management training for councils, NGOs, and volunteers, running community engagement activities such as wellbeing safaris, work parties, gardening events and talks, and developing bumblebee discovery trails. Bumblebee monitoring is being supported through BeeWalk volunteer training, identification workshops, and blitz events.
Get involved!
Whether you’re passionate about bumblebees or have a skill to share, there’s a place for you to get involved:
• Volunteer for BeeWalk or bumblebee surveys
• Join practical conservation days and work parties
• Attend wellbeing safaris, ID workshops and gardening events
• Become a Bumblebee Champion supporting local engagement
• Follow our social media and digital content
Donations and local sponsorship also help extend the project’s reach and impact.
If you are interested in getting involved, or would like to know more about the project, please email sinead.lynch@bumblebeeconservation.org
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.