Anyone who has taken part in the Big Meadow Search, or has seen the BMS books 1 and 2, will understand that the plants in the species-rich grasslands we are trying to conserve or create are only part of the story.  They are the basis of a complex ecosystem of interdependant organisms.  Many invertebrates feed on plants, and some are adapted to feed on the nectar and pollen produced by flowers.  Many plants depend on insects for their pollination, and like many other insect groups, some pollinators have declined significantly in the last couple of decades.  It’s therefore important to understand the insect/flower associations as much as possible.

The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) is a citizen science project which aims to engage individuals and communities in taking action for pollinators, and providing evidence to design the UK’s strategy for the conservation of pollinators.  It’s an easy project to take part in, you can either do “FIT Counts” (Flower-Insect Timed counts, or monitor a 1km square.  The FIT counts are easy to do, each count is for 10 minutes, but you can do as many as you want.

There is a complete guide to how to take part on this website: https://ukpoms.org.uk/ , do please give it a look.