Today we had a visit from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to tell us all about bees and the important part they play in everyday life.  Did you know that even if you hate bees, we really need them? They are responsible for much of the food which we eat.  Bees perform a task that is vital to the survival of agriculture – it’s called ‘pollination’.  In fact, one third of our global food supply is pollinated by bees. To put it simply, bees keep plants and crops alive. Without bees, we wouldn’t have very much to eat.

Primary 1 led the assembly with Mrs Gaspar and told us all about the bumblebee and we learned lots of interesting facts.  Without bumblebees, there would be no Tomato Ketchup, there would be no healthy breakfast cereals and, of course, there would be no honey.

Sarah, from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, came along and told us all about this organisation.  The Bumblebee Conservation Trust was set up because of serious concerns about the bumblebee. In the last 80 years our bumblebee populations have crashed dramatically. Two species have become nationally extinct and several others have also reduced drastically.  Bumblebees are familiar and much-loved insects that pollinate our crops and wildflowers, so people are getting worried.  The Bumblebee Conservation Trust have a vision for our future, a future in which our communities and countryside have lots and lots of bumblebees, lots of colourful flowers which support a diversity of wildlife and habitats for everyone to enjoy.  The Bumblebee Conservation Trust has three main aims:

1. To support the save all bumblebees, rare or abundant;
2. To raise awareness and increase our understanding about bumblebees and the social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits which they and other pollinators provide;
3. To ensure the Bumblebee Conservation Trust is able to respond quickly to challenges and change to help the bumblebee population.

Here are our highlights from this morning’s assembly.  We hope you enjoy it.

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