Children to lead the way in fight to save crucial insects

Children to lead the way in fight to save crucial insects

On Monday, the National Trust for Jersey helped pupils at Jersey College Prep to plant a wild flower patch as part of the Channel Islands Pollinator Project, a joint initiative between government and environmental groups in both bailiwicks.

Over the course of this year, Growth, Housing and Environment’s Natural Environment team hope to see wild flowers planted in more school grounds, Islanders’ gardens, by businesses, in public parks and even on the central reservation of a roundabout in efforts to halt a global decline in insects species that underpin nature and food production.

Before helping the children at JCP to plant their pollinators flower patch, National Trust education officer Jo Stansfield addressed a school assembly. She told pupils why the survival of pollinating insects is vital for nature and farming, and how planting special seed mixes can help them to survive by providing the food sources they rely on.

‘We also want to encourage children to ask their parents to consider planting native wild flowers to provide food for pollinator insects in their gardens and to leave areas of their lawns to grow wild,’ she said. ‘We also hope that the project will provide practical work for schools to link into the science curriculum.’

The launch of the project in Jersey follows the recent publication of a UK report, which confirmed similar studies in Europe and across the world, that insects such as bees and hoverflies are declining due to a number of factors such as loss of habitat due to development, intensive agri-chemical-based farming and climate change.

The report from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Oxford revealed a 25% loss of habitat for more than 350 bee and hoverfly species since 1980.

Nina Cornish, research ecologist at Natural Environment, says similar analysis is to take place in the islands, led by the Société Jersiaise and Jersey Biodiversity Centre, to assess the local populations of pollinating insects.

‘In Jersey, like the UK, the majority of pollination is carried out by bees – wild solitary bees and bumblebees – as well as domesticated honeybees, flies, including hoverflies and bee-flies, butterflies, moths, wasps and beetles,’ Mrs Cornish said.

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