Voting urged to help Pollinating the Peak project win £25,000

An exciting initiative to protect bumblebees and wild pollinators – including the scarce Bilberry bumblebee – across the Peak District and Derbyshire could receive a major boost if conservation charity Bumblebee Conservation Trust wins an online vote.

People are being urged to support the charity’s Pollinating the Peak project, which is shortlisted to win £25,000 in the Aviva Community Fund, in an online vote running from 21 October-18 November 2016.

The vote is open to anyone, and Pollinating the Peak can be supported at littlegreenspace.org.uk/voteptp.html.

“We are urging people to vote for us and to help us make a real difference to our struggling bees and wild pollinators,” said Rhodri Green, Pollinating the Peak Community Development Officer.

Bumblebees are icons of summer and pollinate many of our crops, but over recent decades their populations have crashed with some species already extinct or fighting extinction.

Pollinating the Peak aims to help save the sound of summer by inspiring people and communities to get involved to create bee-friendly habitats, help monitor bumblebees and learn conservation skills. A fun educational programme will involve secondary schools.

The Peak District is one of the few places in the UK where the rare Bilberry bumblebee is found. This species has an important ecosystem role to play in supporting the Peak District's upland plants.

Partners in Pollinating the Peak are Chatsworth, Chesterfield Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Little Green Space, Moors for the Future Partnership, Peak District National Park, and Visit Peak District & Derbyshire.

Aviva Community Fund supports and recognizes important causes in local communities. Everyone can vote and the project with the most votes will be entered into the finals, where a judging panel will award the funds. Everyone registering gets 10 votes to give to one project or to split across various projects.

The Pollinating the Peak team will be at Chesterfield Market Festival on Friday 28 October from 10am- 4pm, offering fun family activities including bumblebee making and a colouring competition.

For more details about the project, which is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, visit bumblebeeconservation.org, email ptp@bumblebeeconservation.org and follow @BuzzingPeak on Twitter.