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Summer is officially here. Flowers are in full bloom, fields are brimming with butterflies and somewhere out there a small but significant creature is busy pollinating flowers and bringing our greenery to life. The shrill carder bees are incredibly important for nature and humanity - they pollinate flowers so plants can bloom and multiply, providing us with food and beautiful places to enjoy, and they help provide flower-rich homes for other wildlife too. But these little buzzers are now the most endangered bumblebees in the UK, and with their home threatened by road developments, could this be one of their last summer’s on the Gwent Levels?
Having once been widespread across Wales and England, by 2000 the species was reduced to just seven populations. Sadly, two of the English populations have since gone extinct, but of the remaining five, the strongest populations are on the Gwent Levels in Wales and the Thames Estuary in England. However, if we thought their decline wasn’t bad enough both of these populations are now threatened by road developments. But it’s not all lost - if we work together to protect the shrill carder bees’ home they can keep on buzzing for years to come.
As you may know, the Gwent Levels is currently threatened by Welsh Government’s proposal to extend and divert a stretch of the M4 around the south of Newport. The RSPB has opposed these proposals since they were first put forward in the early 1990s because of the significant harm it would do to the wildlife that lives there.
The Gwent Levels is really important for the shrill carder bee because it is a unique landscape of sprawling wild-flower rich meadows and grassland, including vast networks of ditches and ponds. Because of modern developments, such as roads and railway lines, the ditches and reens that are all linked in a particular way that you don’t often see today. We know that one of the likely reasons for the bees’ widespread decline is the loss of connected habitats, so it’s vital that we protect the few remaining places that provide special homes for wildlife.
Unfortunately, the plans for the M4 would cut through the heart of the bees’ home, fragmenting the landscape in a way that would reduce their food and ability to nest and breed. The proposed ‘black route’ would consume 721 hectares of land in total. Within the Gwent Levels network of Special Sites of Scientific Interest (SSSIs), 135 hectares of land would be destroyed permanently, and a further 20ha of habitat would be lost during the four years it would take to build the road.
The Welsh Government is currently looking for ways to create new homes for wildlife that will be affected by the road, which is brilliant, but the proposals don’t look like they’ll be enough to undo the damage. The kind of nature that wildlife like the shrill carder bee relies on is ancient; it has taken tens of thousands of years to create these perfect conditions. Replacing them would be nigh on impossible.
We continue to campaign to stop this development, so the shrill carder bee can keep buzzing and pollinating for people and nature alike. Alongside other Non Governmental Organisations, we’re currently taking part in Welsh Government’s M4 Public Inquiry, which will soon draw to a close. However, over the coming months we’ll continue to call on Welsh Government to save the levels, the shrill carder bee and the wonderful wildlife that inhabits the area.
A decision on the Gwent Levels’ fate is expected later in the year. Stay tuned for more information, and get ready to stand together for nature.