Bumblebee-friendly Schools Award
Bumblebee-friendly Schools introduces students, staff and the wider school community to bumblebees. The scheme encourages positive actions that will make schools a better place for bumblebees and other wild pollinators. Schools complete a set of bumblebee-friendly actions and provide evidence to earn Bumblebee-friendly Schools accreditation.
Why bumblebees need our help
Through pollination, bumblebees and other pollinators ensure the production and availability of some of our most nutritious fruits and vegetable and underpin entire natural ecosystems. In the last century, changes to the way we manage our land have led to a huge decline in bumblebee numbers, with two species of bumblebee becoming extinct in the UK.
The good news is that small actions and changes to our local environments, including our schools, can create a genuine conservation impact for bumblebees, helping them to survive—and thrive!
How Bumblebee-friendly Schools works
Bumblebee-friendly Schools is made up of four different criteria called wings: Curriculum, Habitat, Community and Monitoring. To achieve accreditation, schools must complete the actions from each wing. These are separated into three award levels:
- Bronze: Actions that introduce bumblebees (complete all Bronze actions).
- Silver: Actions that bring bumblebees into everyday school life (complete all Bronze and Silver actions).
- Gold: Actions that create a stronger commitment to bumblebee conservation, from staff, students and the wider school community (complete all Bronze, Silver and Gold actions).
Get started today
Our timelines will help you achieve the Bronze, Silver or Gold award before the end of the summer term.
