What can you do to help pollinators?

Gardening for wildlife

To support pollinators in your garden, some important tips are

• Don’t use chemical pesticides

• Try to leave some areas undisturbed

• Try to grow a variety of plants to support different pollinator groups.  These don’t have to be all native wildflowers, lots of garden plants provide excellent nectar and pollen resources

Here are some online resources for wildlife-friendly gardening

Royal Entomological Society guide for supporting insects in green spaces https://www.royensoc.co.uk/shop/publications/insects-in-green-spaces/

Royal Horticultural Society guide on plants for pollinators https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/conservation-biodiversity/wildlife/plants-for-pollinators

You can also take part in campaigns like No-Mow May https://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay/

Volunteering

There are lots of ways to get involved in insect conservation, whether that’s helping restore habitat, taking part in a citizen science project or joining a community conservation group.

Here are some groups and charities you can get involved with

Buglife https://www.buglife.org.uk/

The Buzz Club https://www.thebuzzclub.uk/

Bumblebee Conservation Trust https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/

Butterfly Conservation https://butterfly-conservation.org/about-us

Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust https://www.wildsheffield.com/about/

Local environmental groups https://www.wildsheffield.com/nr-toolkit/looking-after-your-local-green-space/local-groups/