Brilliant bees bolster environment for The Donkey Sanctuary

Bees and donkeys may not be the most obvious of accomplices, but The Donkey Sanctuary's conservation team recently held a bumblebee workshop to show exactly how these popular pollinators benefit the donkeys' environment around the Sidmouth sanctuary.

Joining up with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the day-long course held at the sanctuary, included members of the public, staff and volunteers from The Donkey Sanctuary, local National Trust rangers and conservation trainees from Natural England.

Bumblebees, together with solitary bees, hoverflies, butterflies, moths and other pollinators, are essential for pollinating the flowering plants, grasses and trees that the resident donkeys benefit from.

The presence of different bee species can tell a lot about the health of an environment and as bumblebees are relatively conspicuous and easy to identify, the wildlife and conservation team at The Donkey Sanctuary are able to use them as indicators for habitat quality.

Daniel Brown, Conservation Officer at The Donkey Sanctuary, said: "The Bumblebee Conservation Trust knows roughly where different bee species are but not how many of these bees there are. We were given training to conduct a Bee Walk, which involves counting the number of bumblebees observed along a 1-2 km route. This then helps the Trust estimate the abundance of bumblebees across the UK."

The Donkey Sanctuary's award winning 'People's Choice' garden from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show provides an extra benefit for pollinators. After being skilfully reconstructed at the Sidmouth sanctuary, the garden is awash with colour and buzzing with insects, and is available for visitors to enjoy for free.

The donkeys themselves play their part too; a number of solitary bee species have made nest holes in the bare ground created by donkey hooves and their dung provides food for beetles and nutrients for the soil.

The Donkey Sanctuary is exploring how the health and wellbeing of donkeys, people and the natural environment can be integrated on sanctuary land. Its woodlands, ponds, hedge banks and grassland are used by dormice, farmland birds, at least 11 species of bat, butterflies and bees, as well as many other kinds of wildlife.

The resident donkeys gain so much from the rich and diverse grazing opportunities in Sidmouth – helped in no small part by the bees and insects that share their home.

If you would like to help the conservation team with their wildlife surveys, please contact them by email here: [email protected].

For more information on the work of The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth, click the red button below.