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A Word from Buzzles, our own Bee Messenger

How it all started

Co-founder Geoff Brunsden has been passionately working with wildflowers for over 30 years now in NZ and always promoted them for their super qualities in providing fabulous food for bees and their pollinator friends. During one of his and wife Liz’s English garden roaming’s they came across the existence of the UK Bumblebee Conservation Trust and “bingo” the seed was sown to set up a similar here in NZ. We all knew bees and their friends were in trouble but there wasn’t any real way to get out a message to all New Zealanders.

Bumblebee on a lavendar flower

So, like the UK it was decided that the Bumblebee was the most passive, cute and iconic pollinator there was to help spread the word in the most fun loving way. This is where Helen Johnson stepped in. Seeing a little media rambling about Geoff’s wishes she tracked him down and in the nicest way ‘made it happen’ to get our NZ trust up and running. So we did it and here we are thanks to your support and the dedicated special funding of The Wright Foundation and Zonda Beneficial’s.


But we have a long way to go. We look now at our UK counterpart who are now 10 years old! However, being so young we are encouraged by the founder of the UK Trust Dave Goulson who says: “The early days were tough. We had no staff just a handful of volunteers and zero experience as to run the whole thing.” But thanks to a funding grant and dedicated staff they got their feet on the ground.


To date:

  • We have had our commissioned ‘Bumblebee song’ recorded and the ‘special dance’ videoed-check it out on our web.

  • Many educational ‘school’ activity boxes have been developed and produced by ‘The House of Science’ in Tauranga.

  • Our Bee experts have been brilliant in assisting us answering the questions that members and site visitors send us.

  • Given dozens of talks and demonstrations promoting the importance of bumblebees, sometimes with live bumblebee hives, to various shows, groups and organizations.

  • We have had several media launches to raise our profile.

  • NZBCT has developed a face-book page which we are endeavoring to keep active. Do send us photos that we can add to our album.

  • A major promotion into schools via Garden to Table, where we sent our 800 books & 31 hives to 80 schools.

  • So many other plans which will come to fruition once we can increase our membership numbers.


Thank you from us and the bumble bees for your support.

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