Somerset volunteers take up traditional scything at Muchelney Abbey to save one of Britain's rarest bumblebees

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

English Heritage has launched a volunteer scything team at Muchelney Abbey near Langport, training participants to cut grassland by hand using centuries-old techniques that are kinder to insects and wildflowers than modern mowing. The three-year conservation project, run with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, targets the shrill carder bee, now surviving in only a handful of locations across the country. Volunteers were trained by the Exmoor National Park Authority and will eventually extend their work beyond the abbey site.

The shrill carder bee has lost most of its habitat over decades and is among the UK's most endangered pollinators.

Volunteers are also trained to monitor wildlife, recording which plants are flowering and which bees visit most often.

Traditional scything, once the backbone of British meadow management, is now being revived as a high-tech-free solution for sensitive conservation sites.