Bumblebee study
Girls at Kilgraston have become ‘citizen scientists’ in a national bumblebee study.
The girls have created a ‘bee zone’ beside the prep playground, planted with lavender to attract bees. They record the time, weather conditions and other variables at the beginning of each observation, then carry out regular 10-15 minute observations of the number and species of bees seen. The girls have fast become experts in telling apart their ‘three banded white tail’ from their ‘orange white tail’!
This is part of EDF and the British Science Association’s ‘Big Bumblebee Discovery’ - ‘a ground-breaking initiative which aims to inspire over 100,000 children, their parents and teachers to participate in a series of mass participation experiments which will address real scientific questions’.
Once the girls have carried out their observations, they upload their data onto an online hub where it is combined with the findings of millions of other ‘citizen scientists’ as part of a nationwide study.
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