Halton residents invited to join the big garden bee count

Cheshire Wildlife Trust is asking people to take part in the first ever big garden bee count.

The conservation charity has teamed up with RECORD, the local Biological Records Centre which is producing a bumblebee distribution atlas for Cheshire and wants people to record their sightings.

Chief executive Charlotte Harris said: "Bees and other pollinators such as moths and butterflies have lost much of their habitat in the past 60 years including a staggering 97 per cent of wildflower meadows.

“They’re also under fire from pesticides, habitat loss, intensive agriculture and climate change.

"As the local wildlife trust for Halton we’re ideally positioned to take practical action to help them.

“We already do lots of work across our reserves to restore and improve habitat for these vital species.

“But we want to do more which is why we're taking the first steps of a long-term pollinator campaign so that we can help these vital insects for years to come.”

On Sunday, July 17 the trust wants as many people as possible to report what type of bees they see on this day.

Tony Parker, chairman of RECORD, said: "Don't worry if you don't know a honeybee from a bumblebee.

“We just need to know what you've seen, where and when."

Identification sheets can be downloaded from cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/beescount where there is a special online form to submit your sightings.

You don't have to wait until July 17th to send your findings, RECORD is already collecting data, and you can continue submitting sightings until the end of September.

If you'd like to get some experience of identifying pollinators before July 17, you can join Cheshire Wildlife Trust for a family-friendly mini-beast hunt focussed on pollinators at the trust's Swettenham Meadows nature reserve on Sunday, June 26, from 1pm - 4pm.

The event is free but places are limited so booking is essential.

Visit cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/whats-on or call 01948 820728.