Wildflower Turf are passionate about supporting biodiversity and positively impacting our environment and natural habitat. The UK is at the bottom of the G7 league table for how much biodiversity it has left and is placed in the lowest 12% of global countries and territories for biodiversity intactness.
As well as our range of biodiverse products, education and consultancy, another positive impact we have is by supporting national conservation projects, such as the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme and The Big Butterfly Count.
We are driven by our passion and this knowledge helps us understand the kinds of pollinators that each of our range of wildflower products are benefitting. Internally, these projects help develop our team’s knowledge, aiding them to identify both flowers and the pollinators.
We will share our research with our customers and Accredited Partners, enabling us to show in real terms how their Wildflower installations are benefitting biodiversity.
These efforts are also contributing to citizen science, using our time and expertise to inform research.
UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme
The UKPoMS survey season is well under way. In 2023, it began on 1st April and will run until 23rd September.
The Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership (PMRP) aims to establish how insect pollinator populations are changing across Great Britain. They are working with existing recording schemes that focus on pollinating insects, and have established two new large-scale surveys under the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme banner (PoMS).
There are two areas of focus. Firstly, FIT Counts (Flower-Insect Timed Count), a simple survey collecting the total number of insects that visit a particular flower, ideally chosen from our list of 14 target flowers. Secondly, 1 km square surveys, which are a more systematic approach, using pan-traps to capture samples of insects from a set of 1 km squares in England, Scotland and Wales.
The Big Butterfly Count
The Big Butterfly Count is a UK-wide survey aimed at helping us assess the health of our environment simply by counting the amount and type of butterflies (and some day-flying moths) we see.
To help generate further interest and make recording counts easier, the Big Butterfly Count has launched a dedicated app, available to download for android or apple.
The website includes a fascinating interactive map, where you can see firsthand how your data is contributing to conservation science and research.
The Big Butterfly Count begins on Friday 14th July 2023 and will run until Sunday 6th August. To participate in the count, donate or become a member visit the Big Butterfly Count Website.
How Wildflower Turf are supporting these conservation projects
Our highly engaged team at Wildflower Turf are conducting our own surveys across our biodiverse sites. Participants have been trained and briefed before conducting across a range of pre-identified species (identified by our research analyst, Lou Lawrence MBE). The benefits are two-fold, with results submitted to the national database via the app, benefitting countrywide results and research. Internally, the information is also collated for Wildflower Turf.
This helps our internal research team, providing vital biodiversity information that will allow us to tailor our product range to suit specific pollinators in the future as well as helping us understand how our products may be supporting different species.
We hope you can likewise support and generate awareness of these crucial projects that are incredibly rewarding.
Helen Simmen
Head of Research & Development at Wildflower Turf
Helen has a strong background in biology and environmental science. Her knowledge and real passion to develop wildflower solutions to tackle biodiversity loss helps us challenge the norm and progress with exciting and often groundbreaking progress in this field.
Lou Lawrence MBE
Research and Development Operative at Wildflower Turf
Lou has a background in wildlife monitoring, recording and nature conversation and is currently studying for a MSc with Manchester Metropolitan University. Lou has been a member of MCIEEM (Member of Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management) since October 2022.