Author Archives: Gemma Foster
Evaluation report
Our funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund has officially come to an end, and it’s been great to look back over the project’s many successes and achievements while writing our Evaluation Report. During the two and a half year project, … Continue reading
Blooms for Bees quiz
We have developed a short quiz to test people’s bumblebee identification skills and familiarity with bumblebee-friendly garden plants. You can take part in this quiz whether you participated in the Blooms for Bees project or not. The quiz closes at … Continue reading
Our first journal paper
The first Blooms for Bees journal paper ‘Evaluating the ability of citizen scientists to identify bumblebee (Bombus) species’ has been published in PLOS One this week. You can read the full paper on the PLOS One website. In this paper, we use … Continue reading
Blooms for Bees featured in new wildlife gardening book
We are delighted that the Blooms for Bees project features in Kate Bradbury’s new book, Wildlife Gardening for everyone and everything, published by Bloomsbury in April 2019. The book is absolutely packed with gorgeous photographs and practical information, some of which … Continue reading
The results 2017
Thank you to everyone who submitted surveys in 2017 and 2018. We received records from 599 participants, from as far north as the Shetland Islands and as far south as the Isles of Scilly. In this blog post, we share … Continue reading
About nasturtiums
This summer, we are working with Hozelock to explore whether foliar feeds can improve nectar and pollen provision for bees. For this trial we will be growing tubs of nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) and have selected the compact, non-trailing variety ‘Ladybird’. Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum … Continue reading
Foliar feeds trial
We’re really excited about our new field trial in partnership with Hozelock. The trial is designed to determine whether foliar feeding container grown plants can increase the abundance and nutritional value of flowers, and whether this affects bee visitation. Tubs, hanging baskets and window … Continue reading