Kent’s Plan Bee
Kent is a UK hotspot for the diversity of many pollinators including bumblebees but, as with the rest of the country, our rarest species have been pushed to the coasts or isolated pockets by changes in land management and development.
In 2019, Kent County Council started an initiative called ‘Kent’s Plan Bee’ to reverse declines in pollinator diversity by managing their own sites more sensitively. This now includes objectives of influencing the wider community across the county by raising awareness and promoting action, as well as monitoring the impacts of these activities on plants and pollinators.
To support this initiative, the Trust is working with Kent County Council to implement its policy to manage the council’s estate to help all pollinators and to advise other bodies and the public on what they can do. The Kent’s Plan Bee Project Officer is employed by the Trust and seconded to the council to drive this process forward.
We are already working with Highways, household waste centres, rights of way and facilities teams within the council as well as public transport operators and the education sector. Campaigns including No Mow May and Bugs Matter are being promoted every year. Monitoring includes plant surveys, PoMS FIT counts and BeeWalks (the Trust’s national monitoring and recording scheme) by local staff and the public.
Through this work, we aim to connect up populations of common and rare species across the Kent landscape, building on previous and continuing work done by other Trust projects and ensuring their survival into the future.
Kent’s Plan Bee Community Pollinator Toolkit
This toolkit is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to improve their community for bumblebees and other pollinators. Originally developed by Kent County Council, the toolkit provides information on urban and rural areas and can be used in any county. Whether you live in a flat, have a garden or volunteer at a community group, you can make a positive difference for your local pollinators. Why not encourage your council to use the toolkit in your local area?
Further information
If you are interested in finding out more, please contact the Project Officer: simon.springate@bumblebeeconservation.org
