Farmland Ecology Blog

The year 2024 has officially been declared “the worst year for bumblebees since records began” by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. While out in the field surveying pollinators across southern England, GWCT researchers also noticed a shocking decline in bee numbers compared to previous years. And they were not alone. What’s behind these declines?

As the BEESPOKE project draws to a close, there are a number of crucial messages to take away. Pollinators, like many living creatures, need food, shelter and somewhere to nest. The need for floral diversity to provide pollinators with food sources that suit them is a key point around which the BEESPOKE project was largely based.

This February and March the Farmland Ecology Unit collected 1,200 soil samples as part of the healthy soil, healthy food, and healthy people (H3) project. H3 is part of a large interdisciplinary project aiming to transform UK food systems by putting the health of people and the environment at the forefront of UK food production.

In the BEESPOKE Project which is coordinated by GWCT, one of our tasks is to investigate the extent to which farmers are interested in conserving pollinators and if not, then why not. To help with this we are looking for farmers to complete this short survey.

The EU has now extended the ban on the use of neonicotinoid insecticides to all field crops which includes cereals and sugar beet. John Holland looks at some alternatives.

With New Zealand’s dairy farmers currently getting a lot of stick about their impact on the environment and especially water quality. John Holland asks who should pay for environmental protection?

A recent paper on insect declines on nature reserves in Germany attracted a surprising amount of media attention last week. But then bad news always gets the limelight. Should we be worried? And is it good for farmers to have fewer pesky creatures around?