How to join
Join our team of dedicated volunteers and help us make a difference for wild bees in Germany. We are passionate about protecting these vital pollinators, and we invite you to get involved in our research and conservation efforts. Whether you're a seasoned naturalist or just starting out, we welcome your enthusiasm and support
Get involved and make a difference! Explore our volunteer opportunities below and join our team to help protect wild bees in Germany.
Nesting Aid | Bumblebee Monitoring | Bumblebee Challenge | Monitoring Areas
Wild bees are a vital component of Germany's agricultural ecosystems, with around 600 species playing a crucial role in pollination. By working together with volunteers and using nesting aids, we aim to establish a comprehensive and reliable database on the population status and trends of cavity-nesting wild bee species in agricultural landscapes, ultimately informing conservation efforts and supporting the long-term health of these ecosystems.
How? You set up 12 nesting aids on your study area. The species colonising the nesting aids are recorded using photographs and environmental DNA samples.
How long? A sponsorship cycle for the nesting aid lasts two years.
Where? Monitoring takes place nationwide on designated study areas. You can look after an area near you.
Who? Anyone can participate in the research! Knowledge of species is not a prerequisite.
Further information on participating in the module for recording cavity-nesting wild bees in nesting aids can be found on the following page:
About nesting aids
Bumblebees are social wild bees. They play an important role as pollinators and indicators of the state of our agricultural landscape. Together with volunteers, we want to record the status and changes in bumblebees in German agricultural landscapes.
This is what the citizen science project Bumblebee Monitoring is all about:
How? You regularly walk a 500-metre transect in the agricultural landscape, catch bumblebees, photograph them and release them again
When? From March to October, you will carry out the recording during the last 15 days of the month. This will take approximately 2 to 4 hours per month.
Where? Monitoring takes place nationwide on designated study areas. You can look after one or more areas in your vicinity.
Who? Anyone can participate in our research! Knowledge of species is not a prerequisite.
For more information on participating in bumblebee monitoring, please visit the following page:
Bumblebee Monitoring
How? You photograph bumblebees using the ObsIdentify app.
When? The Bumblebee Challenge is a bi-annual event, held from 20th March to 9th April and from 20th June to 3rd July.
Where? You can participate from anywhere in Germany.
Who? Anyone can participate in our research! Knowledge of species is not a prerequisite.
For more information on participating in bumblebee monitoring, please visit the following page:
Bumblebee Challenge
Contact us
Nesting Aid Partnerships
nisthilfe@thuenen.de
Bumblebee Monitoring & Bumblebee Challenge
hummeln@thuenen.de
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