0:00:10 > 0:00:14Even when I was a young girl growing up in Liverpool,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17I knew that there was one tiny creature
0:00:17 > 0:00:21that my dad depended on to grow all his lovely flowers,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24his tomatoes and his berries.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26The humble bumblebee.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30Bumblebees are fat and fuzzy.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35Their smaller slimline cousins, the honeybees, also do some pollinating.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39But bumblebees do far more to help our plants reproduce.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42Britain's 25 native bumblebee species
0:00:42 > 0:00:47have evolved to pollinate a huge variety of different flowers.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Some have tongues that extend up to two centimetres to get inside our
0:00:51 > 0:00:52longest flowers.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58It's thanks to bumblebees that we have one in every three mouthfuls
0:00:58 > 0:01:02of our food, and they're the only insect that can pollinate a tomato.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10But since World War II, we've lost 98% of our wild flower meadows,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13the bumblebee's preferred habitat.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17And it's been disastrous for the bees.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20The bumblebee population has crashed.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24And it makes me really sad to see fields without a single wild flower
0:01:24 > 0:01:28in sight. No food for the bumblebees.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32So, I was delighted when a charity was set up to focus exclusively
0:01:32 > 0:01:35on the plight of the bumblebee.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38It was called the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40And I joined immediately.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46The trust is working to create 10,000 hectares of new habitat for
0:01:46 > 0:01:51bumblebees. This will help provide food for hungry bees and prevent
0:01:51 > 0:01:53further decline.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57There's lots Britain's gardeners can do to give a small but ideal home or
0:01:57 > 0:02:01snack stop for many of our bumblebee species.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06In Pembrokeshire, Bumblebee Conservation Trust volunteer Claire
0:02:06 > 0:02:09is planting up her family's smallholding
0:02:09 > 0:02:11with bee-friendly flowers.
0:02:11 > 0:02:12You could do this, too,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16even if you've only got space for one plant pot.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20This is a viper's bugloss, which grows wild in Britain.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Really, really big favourite of bumblebees.
0:02:22 > 0:02:23They love it.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27I've definitely seen lots more bumblebees and they flock to
0:02:27 > 0:02:29this patch on a sunny day.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32And I can actually sit and drink a cup of tea
0:02:32 > 0:02:34and just watch them sort of lumbering over the flowers
0:02:34 > 0:02:36and collecting their pollen and nectar.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Bumblebee! Bumblebee!
0:02:39 > 0:02:42This is actually bombus pratorum.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44An early bumblebee worker.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47As soon as we put the plant in the ground, she arrived,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and it just shows, you know, what I said.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53If you look into what are the right plants to go in there,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55the bees will come.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Claire's also turning a larger area of rough grassland
0:02:59 > 0:03:02into a wild flower meadow.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04And she has some interesting helpers.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Creating a meadow can be quite a slow process,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11because all the grasses really outcompete the wild flowers.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14But chickens are actually really good at removing grass, so,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17our little sort of meadow makers.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18Little live-in tractors, really.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22This is where the chickens have been for the last month,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25and they've done an absolutely brilliant job
0:03:25 > 0:03:30of clearing all that thick green grass. And now, all we need to do
0:03:30 > 0:03:32is plant some wild flower seeds,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35which have been sourced locally, and, hopefully,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38improve it for bees a bit more next year.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46But if we're going to find 10,000 hectares of habitat,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50then landowners and farmers need to do their bit for the bees, too.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53So, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
0:03:53 > 0:03:55is also working on large-scale projects.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59In consultation with the trust's specialist,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Thames Water have made space for bee-friendly areas
0:04:03 > 0:04:07at several of their water-processing plants, like this one in London.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Bumblebees don't live in hives like honeybees.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16But instead, these use mouse nests and burrows and tussocky grass,
0:04:16 > 0:04:21so the ground needs to be kept slightly rough and not neatly mown.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Letting a little bit of wilderness creep into an otherwise highly
0:04:25 > 0:04:27organised setting like this
0:04:27 > 0:04:30is a wonderful way of giving bumblebees a home.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is also working with farmers,
0:04:35 > 0:04:40advising them to leave a verge of one metre around each field to allow
0:04:40 > 0:04:42wild flowers to flourish.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48It's also important for the trust to measure its progress by monitoring
0:04:48 > 0:04:50bumblebee numbers.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55The charity runs a fabulous initiative,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59tracking and identifying Britain's bumblebees.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01It's called the bee walk.
0:05:01 > 0:05:02And I've done one myself.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07If you want to volunteer to do bee walks,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10the Bumblebee Conservation Trust will train you up.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Going to start with the basic principles of identification
0:05:13 > 0:05:14and what bits to look at...
0:05:14 > 0:05:18500 volunteers have been through the training in the last
0:05:18 > 0:05:19three years.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Bee walk veteran Alan did his training several years ago.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28He now volunteers for the trust and gives talks in schools.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29- A bee walk.- Yes.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31What is a bee walk?
0:05:31 > 0:05:33And what does it involve?
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Well, a bee walk is the really, in one way,
0:05:36 > 0:05:41the really scientific part of what a volunteer can do in the trust
0:05:41 > 0:05:44because it's about trying to find out the actual number,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47the population of the different
0:05:47 > 0:05:48species of bumblebee.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52So, the bee walker chooses a piece of land across the country,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55the same track or field that you walk every single time,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57from March to October, once a month.
0:05:57 > 0:05:58And you record every bee you see,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01what species it is and what flower it's feeding on
0:06:01 > 0:06:03and it's just a joy being out there in the country.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07So, tell me, why is it so important to track bumblebees?
0:06:07 > 0:06:09It's important because we can get the numbers right,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11but, also, we want to track them because, of course,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15they are in very, very serious decline because of habitat loss.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Bumblebees, although they're robust creatures with fur coats on and
0:06:19 > 0:06:21everything else, they're still very vulnerable.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24I mean, when a bumblebee has filled its tummy with food,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26it can fly for 40 minutes and then it dies.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28So, it's got to find some more food
0:06:28 > 0:06:30before that 40 minutes has gone past.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32- They live at the edge. - Save the bumblebee.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Save the bumblebee, absolutely.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38You could help save the bumblebee, too, by volunteering,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41like these trainee bee walkers.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Instructor Richard has brought them into the Welsh hills to put what
0:06:44 > 0:06:47they've learned in the classroom into practice.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49So, this is either the southern cuckoo,
0:06:49 > 0:06:54or the Gypsy cuckoo, bombus bohemicus.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Bee champion Claire has also come along
0:06:56 > 0:06:59to help train the new volunteers.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01And her thorax is quite orange, isn't it?
0:07:01 > 0:07:03- It's quite rusty.- Yeah, yeah.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Met some lovely people and learned lots of stuff
0:07:06 > 0:07:07and had a nice day out.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Well, I'm going to set up my own bee walk, so,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13I was just having a think about where exactly I'm going to put it.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15And, hopefully, get my husband out on them, as well,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18so he can learn a bit about the bumblebees, too.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Volunteering for Bumblebee Conservation Trust is, obviously,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24first and foremost, brilliant for the bees.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26You are actively helping the conservation
0:07:26 > 0:07:28of our native bumblebees and,
0:07:28 > 0:07:33really, that, in turn, is helping everybody, because without them,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35it would be a much poorer place.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40So, yeah, it's brilliant for us and it's brilliant for the bees.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42So, what are you waiting for?
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Now is the time to help the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
0:07:46 > 0:07:48save our bees.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Our diet and our landscape would be in a sorry state without them.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Your donation will help toward the cost of training a bee walker in
0:07:56 > 0:07:59bumblebee identification,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03or teaching landowners and farmers how to make their land
0:08:03 > 0:08:04bumblebee friendly.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Please, do what you can today for the brilliant bumblebee
0:08:08 > 0:08:11and save the sound of summer.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16You can donate, or volunteer, or both.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21To donate, please go to the website bbc.co.uk/lifeline.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25To give by phone, call 0800 011 011.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32You can also donate £10 by texting GIVE to 70121.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Texts cost £10 plus your standard network message charge and the whole
0:08:36 > 0:08:39£10 goes to Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44Full terms and conditions can be found at bbc.co.uk/lifeline.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Or if you'd like to post a donation,
0:08:46 > 0:08:50please make your cheque payable to Bumblebee Conservation Trust
0:08:50 > 0:08:52and send it to Freepost BBC Lifeline appeal,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56writing Bumblebee Conservation Trust on the back of the envelope.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59And if you want the charity to claim gift aid on your donation,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01please include an e-mail or postal address,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04so they can send you a gift aid form.
0:09:04 > 0:09:05Thank you.