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| Nickname | IBCP |
|---|---|
| Registration no. | 20206199 |
| Legal status | Registered charity |
| Purpose | Bee conservation |
| Region served | Ireland |
| Website | www |
The Irish Bee Conservation Project is a charitable organisation in Ireland that seeks to conserve all native Irish bee species. It has four "pillars of support" in its work: providing habitats, increasing biodiversity, holding education events and performing research into the decline of bee species. Species of bee in Ireland include the honeybee (Apis mellifera), 21 species of bumblebee and 78 species of solitary bee.
History
The Irish Bee Conservation Project (IBCP) grew out of a research project looking at honeybees and the Varroa mite and was formed in 2019 as a not for profit private company limited by guarantee. That same year it designed and installed its first honeybee "lodges" in Fota Wildlife Park, County Cork.
In 2021, the Irish Bee Conservation Project registered as a charity with the Charities Regulator of Ireland.
Projects
The charity developed and installed a pollinator trail, in conjunction with the Office of Public Works, at Fota Gardens. Opened in 2021, the walking trail consists of a series of 12 stations with QR codes which provide links to information about the gardens, bees and other pollinators.
Other projects by the IBCP include the installation of 24 wild bee lodges at Lough Gur, County Limerick. These lodges are designed to replace lost natural habitats. Since 2020, it has been helping Randal Plunkett, 21st Baron of Dunsany with the rewilding of the Dunsany estate in County Meath by advising him and supplying bee lodges.
In 2022, the charity hosted a free educational event at the South East Technological University's Bealtaine Living Earth Festival. The charity also has an apiary holding native honeybees, where it performs breeding and an ongoing eight year research project into varroa mite tolerance, no research results have been published.
References
- ^ "About Us". Irish Bee Conservation Project. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- "All-Ireland Pollinator Plan – Bees". National Biodiversity Data Centre. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- "Charities Register Search". Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- Brennan, Martha (20 May 2021). "Why there's such a buzz in Cork about World Bee Day". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- "OPW welcomes The Pollinator Trail at Fota House, Arboretum and Gardens to its expanding projects on implementing Biodiversity at its Heritage Sites". 20 May 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- Jacques, Alan (31 March 2022). "Green Team bring hive of activity to Lough Gur". Limerick Post. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- Walsh, Louise (26 December 2020). "How the baron of Dunsany carried out an ambitious rewilding project in Meath". Irish Times. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- "SETU's Calmast announces 40 free events as part of the Bealtaine Living Earth Festival 2022". South East Technological University. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- "Irish Bee Conservation Project". BeeSynergy.org. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
