A nature restoration project in Scotland has helped the ailing local bumblebee population increase by 116 times over in just two years.
When the Rewilding Denmarkfield charity started working on the project near the central Scottish city of Perth in 2021, the location was mostly a barley monoculture and only 35 bees were counted.
After just two years of nature restoration work, charity staff counted more than 4,000 bumblebees from twice as many different species in the same 90-acre field.
One big factor in the bees’ population explosion is the natural arrival of 84 different native plant species that have colonized soil degraded by decades of intensive farming.
“This superb variety of plants attracts thousands of pollinators,” ecologist and project manager Ellie Corsie told The Scotsman. “Rewilding the site has had a remarkable benefit.”
Rewilding Denmarkfield has proven that nature can recover almost anywhere if given a chance: The site is surrounded by new urban construction projects with 4,000 homes and a new bypass road being built nearby.
Founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Dave Goulson, voiced his support for the charity’s work: “At a time when good news about biodiversity is in short supply, Rewilding Denmarkfield provides a wonderful and inspiring illustration that wildlife can recover, and quickly, if we just give it a little space and let nature work her magic.”
