Get Cumbria Buzzing
Combating biodiversity loss by creating havens for pollinators throughout Cumbria.
Partners: Get Cumbria Buzzing Partnership (includes: Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Highways England, Butterfly Conservation, Buglife, and local authorities)
Date: 2019, Ongoing live project
Services: Digital Mapping (GIS), Data Management, Identification Training
Get Cumbria Buzzing is a community-orientated project that aims to boost pollinating insect populations by creating a large network of wildflower havens throughout the county. During the project we collaborated with local communities, local authorities, Highways England, and various partners across Northwest Cumbria.
Over the last 75 years, the UK has lost 97% of flower rich meadows; in the past 50 years, half of bee, butterfly, and moth species have declined; currently, more than 30 species of bees face extinction, while 60% of flowering plants are in decline.
To help combat this catastrophic biodiversity loss, the Cumbria Wildlife Trust asked CBDC to work alongside local and national experts to create a pollinator species list. We collated existing records of pollinators in Cumbria in addition to creating an extensive digital database that will assist us in tracking pollinator health throughout the county and also serve as a repository for future pollinator data. This data will help with habitat intervention and conservation work, and allow us to produce helpful recording tools, such as a Cumbrian Pollinator Distribution Atlas.
Alongside the creating the database, our Data Officer, Moustafa, created an online map of pollinator records in Cumbria and tools to assist the public in recording pollinator data, and our Recording Officer, Stuart, is involved with training local recorders to identify and record pollinator species.
Above:
The pollinator network map we created, as featured on the Get Cumbria Buzzing website.
Visit : Get Cumbria Buzzing website.
CBDC Interactive Map
Above:
We created an interactive map to display ‘Grey Square’ challenge areas (under recorded areas) and the survey event locations for the Get Cumbria Buzzing project area.
Visit : our interactive version of this map here.
Get Involved
If you’re interested in getting involved with recording local pollinators in your area, please download the Get Cumbria Buzzing recording form and check how to submit records to CBDC. Feel free to use our live pollinator map to discover what’s in your area and plan recording trips.
– Submit a Record: Get Cumbria Buzzing recording form
Links and Credits:
– Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Get Cumbria Buzzing website
– Marmalade fly and solitary bee photography © Chris Lawrence
– All images sourced from Get Cumbria Buzzing
