Joining forces for the shrill carder bee in the Geul valley
Over 200 different bee species, many of which rare and endangered, call the scenic valley of the river Geul their home. Thirteen local partners joined forces to strengthen this unique bee community and safeguard it for generations to come. Municipalities, nature conservation organisations, farmer organisations, individual farmers, the waterboard, a drinking water company, the province and scientists are collaborating to create a landscape more attractive to bees. Their efforts were rewarded by the return of the shrill carder bee, an iconic species of landscapes full of flowers, where many other bee species will thrive too.
Bee-friendly management
Three years of measurements of the bee population and flower availability in the Geuldal have given us insights in the relationships between these two factors. This initiative focuses on five habitat types, and within each habitat type we found: more flowers = more bees! This means that we can improve the bee population here relatively easily. Furthermore, the first results of 2020 make us very hopeful for the coming years. We found a more positive trend in bee abundance in the locations where bee-friendly management was implemented. Click below to read more about the results so far.
