CHILDREN are being recruited to give vital help to a major campaign to reverse the decline in numbers of bees in the UK.

North Yorkshire County Council is working with the county’s schools to set up bee-friendly habitats their grounds.

The county’s countryside services have produced a school information pack about creating wildlife areas attractive to bees and even small changes to school grounds can make the difference.

Tips include creating colourful wildflower areas, hedges, planting berry-rich rather than ornamental shrubs and developing mini-beast environments.

The decline of honey bees and bumble bees has been recognised as a critical national issue for a number of years. Bees pollinate a third of everything we eat and bee pollination is worth around £430m to the UK economy in increased crop yields.

There are 24 species of bumble bee in the UK – but 18 are in decline and six have been designated as priority species for conservation action. In the last 70 years, two species have become extinct in the UK.

North Yorkshire has been exploring how it can help to reverse the decline through projects on county land holdings – and, with nearly 400 schools, their grounds present an opportunity for developing bee-friendly habitats as well as teaching children about local wildlife.

Assistant director of countryside services Ian Fielding said, “The loss of bees highlights the loss of many insect species in the countryside, often related to human activities.

“This project could not only make a significant impact on struggling groups like honey bees and bumblebees, but also help a much bigger range of animals and plants that are in decline.”

To download a copy of the pack, visit northyorks.gov.uk/biodiversity