Blog Archives

Managing hedgerows for pollinators

October 15, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

In some farm landscapes, hedgerows are important for not only providing wildlife habitats, but also for linking up habitats. Here, entomologist, Steven Falk, looks at how best to manage hedgerows for pollinators. It’s easy to be dismissive of insects yet…

Flower Power!

May 18, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

Farm Manager of the RSPB’s Hope Farm, Georgie Bray sees great benefits in encouraging a range of flower-rich habitats on farmland, particularly as they can help with natural pest control… Flowers are a fundamental part of a sustainable farming system.…

Tagged with: Countryside Stewardship Hope Farm pest control pollinators wildflowers

No Mow May

May 4, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

Shelley Abbott, Fair to Nature Facilitator, is taking part in No Mow May…. It’s May! While many of us have had to put our normal lives on pause, the natural world is continuing to spring into life. Birds are nesting…

Tagged with: #NoMowMay bees gardens pollinators wildflowers

What do bees need?

July 10, 2018 FTNAdmin — No Comments

It’s Bees Needs Week! This annual event is organised by the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as part of England’s National Pollinator Strategy. Various events are going on around the country to celebrate and promote what…

Tagged with: bees habitats pollinators wildflowers

What’s in my patch? – Red Campion

April 28, 2017 FTNAdmin — No Comments

Red Campion (Silene dioica) is also known as Red Catchfly in the USA. It is a member of the Pink family (Caryophyllaceae). This pretty perennial plant has deep pink flowers with notched petals on a hairy stem up to 1m…

Tagged with: bees farmland birds pollinators What's in my patch? wildflowers wildlife

More pollinating insects on Fair to Nature farms

December 10, 2015 FTNAdmin — No Comments

New research has confirmed that Fair to Nature farms support significantly more pollinating insects than conventional farms. During summer 2015 Sophie Potter, working at the University of East Anglia, observed hoverflies on 10 Fair to Nature farms across East Anglia and counted…

Tagged with: Fair to Nature brands farmland birds pollinators University of East Anglia

Bringing the buzz back to the British countryside

November 5, 2014 FTNAdmin — No Comments

A guest blog by Chloe Hardman, Doctoral Researcher at the Centre for Agri-Environmental Research (CAER), University of Reading. I find it fascinating to watch bumblebees at work; flitting from flower to flower with bundles of pollen on their legs. Sometimes…

Tagged with: Agriland bees CAER habitats pollinators research wildflowers

Which flowers are the best source of nectar?

October 15, 2014 FTNAdmin — No Comments

There is growing evidence that both domestic honeybees and wild pollinators are in trouble, and the many wildflowers that depend on them for pollination are also declining. But are pollinator declines driving flower losses or vice versa? Or are other…

Tagged with: Agriland Project conservation habitat nectar pollinators wildflowers