About the Pollinator Project The Pollinator Project is a Channel Island initiative set up to help stop the decline in pollinating insects. The group works with schools, charities and local organisations. To find out about current initiatives visit the Jersey pollinator project website .
Email Eco Active for more information.
VIDEO
Why pollinators are important A pollinator is an animal that helps carry pollen from the male part of the flower (stamen) to the female part of the same or another flower (stigma). The movement of pollen must occur for a plant to become fertilized and produce fruits, seeds, and young plants. Pollinators are vital for food production and biodiversity.
Globally, there is evidence that shows pollinators are in decline. It is thought the decline in our pollinators is due to a number of factors including:
loss of habitat chemical misuse introduced and invasive plants introduced and invasive animals diseases and parasite
Meet the pollinators
Butterflies and bees are the most well known pollinators. But insect pollinators are a diverse group. Pollinators include wasps, flies, beetles, ants, bugs, thrips and earwigs. Find out more on the Jersey pollinator project website .
Pollinator monitoring
The latest activity within the Pollinator Project is a monitoring scheme. Flower Insect Timed Counts (FIT Counts) are conducted by volunteers counting insects outside in warm dry weather .
What are FIT counts and how to do one FIT counts or Flower Insect Timed Counts is part of the
UK’s Pollinator Monitoring Scheme and is a very simple and short survey (10 to 15 mins) to count insects.
Flower Insect Times Counts on the UK Poms website
Your results will help us to understand more about pollinators in Jersey. They will feed into a larger UK scheme to help understand changes in numbers of pollinators. This is a great chance to get involved and be part of a national scheme that will help target changes needed to assist our pollinating insects .
How to get involved FIT Counts collect data on the total number of insects that visit a particular flower. FIT Counts can be done anywhere, including gardens and parks, in warm, dry weather between April and September.
Local
Flower ID and
Insect ID guides are available. You can also download the app which will show you the insect groups (you don’t need to know the exact species, just the group they belong to) and flowers and how to do the survey. The
Field recording form is very similar to the one that you
transfer your results to online . You don’t need to have an iRecord account or you can create one to help record all your wildlife sightings.
Email wild about Jersey for more information.
Our aspirational targets for 2020 In addition to creating and managing habitat for pollinators on land owned and managed by the project partners, during 2020 the Jersey project partners aimed to:
work with an additional 8 schools, educating the students about pollinators and creating pollinator patches in their grounds encourage members of the public to set aside at least 10% of their gardens for pollinators work with local businesses to enhance habitat for pollinators on their land champion biological recording, leading to a significant increase in the number of insect records held by the Jersey Biodiversity Centre establish a pollinator monitoring scheme to find out how insect pollinator populations are changing in Jersey 2019 aims: create 8 pollinator patches in Jersey school sites have 50 householders who have set aside 10% of their garden specifically for pollinators create 10 pollinator patches in community spaces have 10 businesses who have encouraged pollinators onto their land increase the number of insects records held at the Jersey Biodiversity Centre monitor key spaces in Jersey for pollinators so that we have accurate date To find out more or to get involved visit the Jersey pollinator project website .
Project background The Pollinator Project was originally setup as a Société Guernesiaise initiative by Barry Wells and Vanessa Crispini-Adams in Guernsey in 2017.
Several organisations and interested parties have come together, in partnership, to bring the Pollinator Project to Jersey in 2019. Organisations involved so far includes:
Government of Jersey Jersey Bee Keepers’ Association Jersey Biodiversity Centre Jersey Trees For Life National Trust For Jersey Natural Jersey Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society Societe Jersiaise The Good Jersey Life Visit the Jersey pollinator project website to read about the aims of the project and how you can get involved.
gov.je