During this financial year, Rebugged CIC launched its Balancing Bees Programme, an initiative designed to promote a more sustainable and evidence-based approach to pollinator conservation. As part of the programme, we developed and launched a free-to-use Hive Density Calculator, making the tool available through the Rebugged website for beekeepers, land managers and members of the public. The calculator allows users to estimate an appropriate number of honeybee colonies for a given area based on the available habitat. Users can select from a range of preloaded habitat types or use a custom function to enter their own habitat information. They can also specify the proportion of habitat they wish to reserve for wild pollinators. The tool then provides a recommended honeybee colony density for the area. Although still in its early stages, the calculator will continue to be developed and refined as further ecological information becomes available. Rebugged CIC also acted as an industrial partner for Elkesley Primary School, supporting the school in securing a £3,000 Royal Society Partnership Grant. We helped design and implement a school-wide scientific investigation into the optimum design of solitary bee hotels. This project provided pupils with the opportunity to participate directly in ecological research, while generating practical evidence that can contribute to better provision for solitary bees. In addition, Rebugged CIC partnered with the Peterborough Environmental City Trust to establish “No Sting in the Tale”, a city-wide community science project investigating interactions between managed honeybees and wild solitary bees. Working with local volunteers and members of the Stamford and Bourne Beekeepers Association, we have supported the deployment of approximately 60 solitary bee hotels across the PE postcode area. The project aims to engage the local community in pollinator monitoring while generating evidence about how honeybee abundance may interact with solitary bee populations. This evidence will help Rebugged CIC better understand the balance between managed honeybee colonies and wild pollinator communities, and will ultimately support more informed advice for beekeepers, land managers and the wider public. Together, these activities demonstrate Rebugged CIC's commitment to combining scientific research, community participation and practical conservation. Rather than simply promoting pollinator conservation, our work seeks to generate evidence, develop accessible tools and empower communities to make better-informed decisions about the management of pollinator habitats.

No consultation with stakeholders

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration