A TELEVISION personality left children at a village primary school buzzing after turning the spotlight on the humble bumblebee.

Presenter Dallas Campbell who co-hosted the BBC's Bang Goes the Theory and Channel 5's The Gadget Show was at the 42-pupil Long Marston CE School yesterday to talk to youngsters about The Big Bumblebee Discovery.

It was part of the big EDF Energy experiment aimed at getting thousands of children from across the country to act as scientific researchers this summer and count the number and different types of bumblebees they spot in their garden, school playground or local park.

The results will be used by scientific researchers from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology to explore whether the diversity of bumblebees is affected by their surrounding landscape.

He said: β€œIt’s clear that kids need a bit of encouragement when it comes to learning about nature and making the most of the great outdoors. The Big Bumblebee Discovery is the perfect summer activity to help them do both.

"It not only gives kids a unique and exciting opportunity to get involved in a real-life outdoor science experiment, but they can do this with friends and family, whilst enjoying the sunshine in their back garden or the park.”

Dallas brought with him some lavender plants for the school.

Teacher, Laura Marsland-Hughes, who runs the school's eco club, said: "The children were so excited to meet Dallas. He spoke so passionately about science and drove home the fact that we all play such an important part in the data collection process."

Head teacher Fiona Lawson-Ross, said: "Science shouldn't just be an isolated subject, but about experiencing new things every day."

EDF Energy is encouraging parents and teachers across the UK to sign up by logging on to www.beediscovery.org

The results will be used by scientific researchers from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology to explore whether the diversity of bumblebees is affected by their surrounding landscape.